You're Okay and I'm Here
by SomethingMoreCreative
Summary: Annabeth wasn't sure how she was going to help Percy. How could she get the upset look on his face to go away? How could she get him to feel better and maybe realize that he was okay? In which, Percy isn't okay unless Annabeth is there, and thank god that she is. Percabeth. Two part story. Dedicated to MaydayParade8123.
1. Part 1--You're Okay

**A/N: This has taken me way too long to finish, but I think that you guys will like it anyway. All of the editing was done by me, so if you see any mistakes then understand that they are my own fault and let me know where they are so I can fix them. **

**Warnings: This AU is full of angst. There are some adult and mature situations along with some profanity. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own ****_Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Heroes of Olympus, _****or anything else that you may recognize. **

**This monster of an AU is dedicated to MaydayParade8123. Most of it was inspired by two of her AUs that I ****_adore _****(Watch Me Fall At Your Feet and Can't Cushion The Beat Of My Heart). My AU is just a cheap knock-off, but you guys definitely need to go check out all of her stories. They are all amazing and they inspire me everyday. So thank you, MaydayParade8123. I hope you like it. **

**Also, this is only Part One. I plan on putting up Part Two very soon. **

* * *

Being Percy Jackson's best friend wasn't easy right now. Most of the time, he was easy-going and happy and fun. Most of the time he wasn't stressing out over losing something that had been really important to him. Most of the time he hadn't gone through a tremendous break-up that had rattled him down to his bones.

Percy was naturally a beautiful creature. He cared and loved so easily and without regret that sometimes he forgot that people would actually hurt you.

Sometimes Annabeth wondered how they had ended up being best friends for thirteen years. She wondered what she had hoped would happen when she had introduced Rachel to Percy. She wondered how she had put up with their relationship for this long when she had liked Percy for—

Annabeth couldn't help it though. She just needed her best friend to know that she was here and that he was okay.

Ω

Annabeth rubbed her eyes, trying to wake herself up. Having Peer Issues first period wasn't a good thing for her. She always functioned better if she had an important class early in the morning, and in Peer Issues, she usually finished a work sheet and then she fell asleep.

And it really wasn't a good thing because she didn't have any of her friends in her class. She had taken so many credits already, and they had put her in Peer Issues as an elective to keep her "busy." She was already starting college as a sophomore. She had even tried to come into school late and to cut first period from her schedule (like Percy had managed to) but the guidance counselor had put the brakes on it for her, claiming that she needed to get the high school credit and it would be great prep for college.

Which wasn't true at all. Annabeth was _ready _for college. She knew that she was ready, and she knew that she didn't need some stupid credit hour at eight in the goddamn morning to tell her that.

Anyway, if she had more friends in her class, then maybe she could manage to stay awake. But, no. She was stuck with the seniors that actually needed the credit to graduate. Most of her peers were the jocks and the losers that would rather take a zero than do a worksheet that would take five minutes.

Right now, Annabeth had already finished her work (they were "talking" about alcohol this week). She was trying not to fall asleep, but she had already laid her head down, closing her eyes slowly.

A few minutes later, the bell rang, and Annabeth jerked awake. She hurriedly grabbed her backpack and shuffled out of the room, knowing that Percy would be standing there right outside of the—

"Slow down, Annabeth," he murmured in her ear the second after she bumped into his chest.

She sighed, huddling against him for a few seconds, "Sorry."

Percy circled her waist with one of his arms. His other hand pressed a Styrofoam cup into her hand. Annabeth sighed again as she took a sip of the coffee.

He was smirking. From that, Annabeth thought that today might have been a good day, but his eyes were dull. "You look so relieved to see me this morning. How was Peer Issues?"

"It was awful," Annabeth said with a groan. "I thought I was going to die."

He started walking, steering her toward their next class, "You should have slept over last night. We could have gone and got breakfast, and you wouldn't have had to sit in there."

Annabeth tried not to listen to the undertone in his voice that said _and I wouldn't have been there alone._

"Hmm," she hummed, taking another sip of her coffee.

Percy kept his arm around her waist until they got to their History class. He let go when they got to the door, and she walked in first. Annabeth could feel most of the class's eyes on them, but she ignored them as she sat down at her desk. Percy's hand ghosted up her arm and hesitated on her shoulder for a split second before he fell into his desk behind her.

She wanted to turn around and tell him not to worry about it, but it was too late. He had probably already shut down. He wouldn't listen to her even if they were alone.

Ω

Annabeth tried not to let her thoughts wander too much, but with Percy sitting so close to her, she was having a hard time letting the theory of invisible numbers wash over her mind. They were in the library, studying for their next mid-term, but even though she knew her average would be directly affected by this test, she couldn't make herself focus.

It didn't help that things were complicated right now. Percy and Annabeth had been best friends for _thirteen_ _years_. Percy had also been dating this girl, Rachel, for the last five. According to Percy, his relationship with Rachel had been going great, but then about six months ago, Rachel had started acting weird, and about a week ago, she had broken up with him out of nowhere.

Percy had taken it really hard. Rachel had been his girlfriend for _five years_, and now she wasn't in any part of his life. Annabeth knew that it made Percy nervous. He didn't really know what to do anymore. It was kind of scaring her.

It had gotten bad at school too. Percy and Rachel had been together for a long time, and since the break-up, all of their friends had picked sides. Half of them were on Rachel's side. The other half were on Percy's side. It just so happened that all of the people that were on Rachel's side were doing nothing to Percy, but _everything _to Annabeth.

She could see how everyone thought _that_. Percy and Annabeth had always been close, but post-break-up Percy was clinging to Annabeth more than usual. Which was fine. Percy needed her right now, and she would be here for him until he told her to go away.

But it still didn't lessen the drama. Someone had started spreading rumors about them, and now Annabeth was the bad guy. Half of the senior class was saying that Percy had been cheating on Rachel with Annabeth the entire time they were in a relationship. The other half was laughing at how ridiculous it sounded because _if either one of them cheated it would have been Rachel cheating on Percy. _

It made Annabeth's blood boil. Percy was her _best friend. _Sure, maybe Annabeth did care about him _in that way, _but she never, ever, ever, _ever _made a move on him or even made one comment that betrayed her feelings. She always remembered that he was in a relationship. She never would have ruined that for him.

But, she could see why people were saying that Percy had been cheating. Now, Percy rarely left her side. He was always close to her, and sometimes he just looked at her with these eyes that definitely weren't meant for best friends.

Annabeth knew that she shouldn't care what everybody else was saying. If she wanted to be with Percy (and he wanted to be with her) then they shouldn't worry about it. They could be happy together. Screw what everyone else thought. She couldn't make herself say that though, so every time that Percy tried to get closer to her, she pushed away.

She could see how it hurt him. She could see the way that his eyes lost a spark when she let go of his hand. She could see the droop in his shoulders when she stepped out of his hugs.

Annabeth shook her head. Tears had sprung to her eyes, and now she realized that she was being stupid. Percy was the one that went through a break-up. Percy was the one that deserved to be upset right now, not her.

Annabeth blinked tightly and looked over to him. He was staring down at his notes, scribbling something onto the paper. His jaw was clenched, and Annabeth could see how defined his face was. Before she could stop herself, she reached out and set her hand on his cheek.

"Stop it," she said lightly, tapping her fingers against his skin.

He scowled, "Stop what?"

"Don't clench your jaw like that. You'll hurt your teeth if you don't stop," Annabeth said. "And tell me what's wrong."

Percy sighed and sent her a quick look, "It's nothing."

"It's something," Annabeth argued, removing her hand from his cheek.

"Rachel cornered me today," he said after staring at her for a few seconds.

Annabeth stiffened, "What did she say?"

"She asked me what I was doing this weekend. She told me that she missed me and that we should hang out," Percy put down his pencil and looked up to her.

"What did you tell her?" Annabeth asked cautiously. She didn't want to pass judgment yet, especially because she didn't know what he did.

Percy was quiet for a few seconds, and that's how she knew what he had told her without him saying it.

Annabeth sighed, "Percy, if you're going to do this again, I want you to remember every single time that you thought she was cheating. I want you to think of every time you showed up at my house because of something that she had done to you. I want you to consider how much pain you went through before you put yourself through it again."

"I _know _that, Annabeth," Percy said. His voice was short, "I just miss her. Besides, if she does something again, then that's it. For good."

Annabeth bit back the _that's what you said last time_ to keep from hurting his feelings. She fixed her eyes on the text in her book and didn't look back up until she had finished the chapter.

Ω

She heard a short knock at the door followed by it opening and then slamming shut.

She vaulted off of her bed the next second, setting her laptop down on her desk and running for the stairs. She knew that sound. She knew what it meant. And it scared her.

Annabeth had had a terrible day at school. She felt people staring at her all day, and even though word had gotten around that Percy and Rachel were hanging out again, some people still hadn't forgotten the rumors.

But she had put up with it all day today. She had brushed off the venomous looks and the smart comments. She had even sat with Percy and Rachel at lunch. (Annabeth might not have liked Rachel that much now, but the girl wasn't too bad. They still talked sometimes, but it was short and to the point, and _never _about Percy. Rachel had even admitted that the rumors were made up by most of her friends and that she had tried to stop them. Annabeth wasn't sure how she felt about that yet.) Annabeth couldn't tell if Percy was happy about being back with Rachel or not. So far it had been a week, but Percy wasn't giving her any updates about it.

She didn't need one now.

Annabeth slid down the railing of the stairs and jumped to the ground, rushing to the door. Percy was leaning against it, beating his fist to the wood over and over and _over. _

She finally got within touching distance, and she reached out and calmly wrapped her fingers around his wrist, stopping him from hitting the door again. She used her hold on his arm to pull him around. Annabeth wasn't sure what happened next, but then Percy was huddled in her arms, his head pressed to her chest and his arms wrapped around her waist in a death grip.

She let him stay there for a few minutes while she hugged him and dragged her fingers through his hair. His breathing was heavy, but he wasn't making any other noises.

Annabeth ducked her head so she could see Percy's face, and once she noticed that there were a few tears cutting down his cheeks, she wiped them away with her fingers.

This must have been worse than what she had thought. Percy _never _cried. Out of the thirteen years that she had known him, she had probably seen him cry _maybe _twice.

"You're fine," Annabeth murmured in his ear, rocking him back and forth. "I'm right here. I'm right here."

It took him a few minutes, but after a little while of Annabeth speaking to him softly, he straightened and wiped his eyes again.

"I was on my way to my car from practice, and the whole team was walking with me. Just when I was about to get in my car, I noticed that Mark Rogers was still at school, and he was sitting in his car, kissing a girl. The guys all started laughing because that was something that he would do, but that was when I noticed who the girl was," Percy said. His eyes were dark, and Annabeth didn't like that look on his face.

"What happened next?" Annabeth asked.

Percy jerked one of his hands through his hair, "Rachel noticed me, and she got out of the car. I asked her what the hell she was doing with him, and she told me that she wouldn't have to cheat on me if I wasn't such a prude. We both started screaming at each other, and she admitted that she had been cheating on me for the past six months. _With Mark Rogers."_

Annabeth frowned, "Mark Rogers? _Why?_ He's a fucking idiot."

"I know!" Percy nearly shouted. Tears were starting to gather in the corners of his eyes again. "How is _he _better than me? I mean, I get that she wanted to do some stuff that I didn't want to, but she could have at least told me that instead of finding somebody who would."

"She did that to you in front of all of your friends?" Annabeth asked.

"Yeah. I mean, not that it matters, but—"

"Of course it matters, Percy," Annabeth said. "There was no reason for her to say stuff like that. I hope you know that it all made her look bad. I bet all of your friends think she's a slut. I bet the entire school knows by now."

Percy frowned, "Because that makes me feel better."

She shrugged, "It can't make you feel worse."

He was quiet, and he grasped his hair in frustration. "I just feel like such a _loser. _Am I not good enough to date anyone without them cheating on me? Am I that bad?"

"Hey," Annabeth stepped forward and grabbed his chin with one of her hands. "You are _awesome. _You are literally the perfect boyfriend, but Rachel was just too fucking dumb to see it. She didn't realize that she had everything she could have ever wanted. And if she couldn't see it the first or the second time, then it's not worth trying to get her to see it anymore."

Percy met her gaze, and he blinked. The hard look in his eyes faded, and now he just looked sad. He nodded and whispered, "You're right."

"Of course I'm right," Annabeth said. She leaned up and quickly pressed a kiss to his forehead. "You're okay, and I'm here. Now, I need you to relax and come watch movies with me. Okay?"

He hesitated, and he reached out for her hand. Annabeth didn't have the heart to pull away when he tangled their fingers together.

"I think I'm just going to go home," Percy mumbled. "I don't really feel like hanging out."

She stepped closer to him, "Okay, but don't forget that I'm here."

Percy nodded and started to let go, but Annabeth threw her arms around him. She knew it was kind of stupid to do that, but if she let him leave without reminding him that she was here for him then he would close in on himself and not talk to anyone for a long time.

"Don't forget," Annabeth whispered. "I'm right here."

He nodded again and held her closer for a few seconds until he moved away. He gave her a small smile, and then he was gone.

Annabeth was left with a wooden door in her face and the humming of a car engine until even that faded away.

Ω

She jumped a little when she felt Percy's hand on top of hers.

They were going out to get something to eat then they were headed to the movies. Percy was driving, and Annabeth had been watching the trees go by. She had one of her hands sitting on the console. Percy threaded their fingers together without saying a word.

It had been two days since Percy had found Rachel cheating on him. Percy had been clinging to Annabeth's side, and Rachel had been brave enough to come up to both of them and try to apologize. Annabeth had been about to punch her in the face, but Percy had grabbed Annabeth's hand and pulled her away before she could.

Since then, Percy said that Rachel had texted him a few times, but he hadn't answered.

Annabeth didn't know what to say. She wasn't sure if she should try and get him to accept Rachel's apology or if she should keep pushing him away from Rachel. It was confusing her just because Percy looked so upset _all the time _now. What if he really wouldn't be happy until he got back together with Rachel?

She glanced over at him. He had one hand on the steering wheel, and he was leaned toward her in his seat. His face was expressionless, but he looked relaxed instead of worried.

"Stop looking at me like I'm a piece of glass that is about to break," Percy said, shooting her a small smile. He squeezed her fingers.

The wind ruffled Annabeth's hair, and she said, "I don't do that."

"Yes, you do," Percy said with a laugh, making Annabeth smile. "I'm fine. See? I'm not even thinking about it anymore."

She didn't say anything about today being a good day. If he wasn't thinking about it _today _then she wasn't going to remind him.

Annabeth smiled at him and changed the radio with the hand that he wasn't holding.

Ω

"Annabeth," Percy moaned. "Someone's at the door."

She opened her eyes and tried to wake herself up. She and Percy were on his couch, napping. School had been hard (again) and Percy had demanded that she not leave his side until he could get through a few seconds without thinking of Rachel's name. He had crawled onto the couch and buried in the covers with Annabeth until they had both fallen asleep.

Annabeth sat up and stretched, finally hearing someone knock on the door. She yawned, "Okay, I'll get it."

Percy muttered something else, but she didn't catch it because he threw the blanket over his head and fell back asleep.

She climbed off of the couch and hurried to the door. Whoever was there was still knocking at the door frantically.

"I'm coming," Annabeth muttered as she reached for the handle. She flung the door open without even bothering to ask who it was.

Her jaw dropped.

On the other side of the door, Rachel Dare was staring at her with her dull green eyes and her frizzy red hair. Her jaw was open in shock mirroring Annabeth's expression.

Back in the day, Annabeth and Rachel used to be good friends. In fact, Annabeth was the one who introduced Rachel to Percy. When the two of them had started dating, they had all been good friends. It had stayed like that for the five years that they had dated, but for the past six months, Annabeth had tried to avoid her. The last thing she needed was for Percy to feel like she was taking Rachel's side.

But _why _was Rachel at Percy's house?

"Annabeth?" Rachel asked. Her voice shook, but Annabeth couldn't tell if she was angry or sad.

Just then Annabeth realized that she was wearing one of Percy's shirts and a pair of Nike shorts. That probably didn't look too good either.

"Oh, hey, Rachel," Annabeth said uncomfortably. "Do you… need something?"

Rachel looked away from her, "I want to talk to Percy."

Annabeth stiffened immediately. There was no way that she was going to let that happen.

"I can't let you," she said, shifting in front of the door more so Rachel wouldn't catch a glimpse of Percy in case he had gotten up.

Rachel narrowed her eyes, "Why not?"

"Because he's hurting right now. I won't let anything else hurt him if I can help it, and right now, I _can _help it," Annabeth said fiercely.

"He's hurting because he's not with me," Rachel said.

"No, he's hurting _because_ of you,"Annabeth glared at her. "Since he found out you cheated on him, he hasn't been sleeping or eating or talking that much. He's literally heartbroken. You guys dated for _five _years. You were a big part of his life, and then without warning you _weren't. _You don't realize how thrown off balance he is. You don't understand what you did to him."

"What I did to _him?" _Rachel asked. "I was suffocating, Annabeth. I know how sweet and awesome Percy is, but I just couldn't handle it anymore. And then I noticed Mark and—"

Annabeth cut her off, "Why didn't you just _tell _Percy that? Why didn't you talk to Percy and tell him what you were feeling? That would have been way better than just cheating on him!"

"I wanted both of them!" Rachel said. "I wanted to have Percy because he is so sweet and nice, but I wanted Mark because he made me feel things that Percy didn't. Annabeth, I dated Percy for five years. How do you think this is going for _me?_ I miss him. It feels like a part of me is missing because I'm not with him."

"Then you shouldn't have done anything to lose him. Percy was ready to stand behind you and love you for the rest of his life, but _you _messed it up. This is your fault, Rachel. I get that you miss him, but I can't let you see him. Not when he's trying to get better," Annabeth said, crossing her arms over her chest.

Rachel stared at her for a second. Her eyes were watering, but Annabeth knew that Rachel wouldn't cry in front of her. She was too proud, like Annabeth.

"What happened to us, Annabeth?" Rachel asked a few seconds later. "We used to be so close."

Annabeth tried not to wince. She closed her eyes and thought about Percy with tears dripping down his face because of some of the things that Rachel did.

"We fell apart because you hurt Percy," Annabeth said finally. "I put Percy first, and he needs me right now."

Rachel didn't say anything else. She stared at Annabeth for a few seconds until she nodded sadly. She pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear before she looked back up to Annabeth.

"I need you to do me a favor," Rachel asked. "For old time's sake."

Annabeth frowned, but she owed Rachel that much. "What is it?"

"I'm going to need you to take care of Percy. I need you to treat him and love him way better than I did. Teach him how to be a better man, and let him take care of you. Don't ever betray him like I did because I promise you if you do, you will regret it for the rest of your life. Just," Rachel's voice broke before she continued. "Just fall in love with him and don't look back."

Honestly, Annabeth couldn't believe that she was saying anything like that, but she nodded anyway and said, "Okay."

Rachel's eyes flickered past Annabeth's shoulder and into the house again, but after a second she looked toward the ground and turned away. She walked down a few of the steps.

"Annabeth?" Rachel asked suddenly, turning around to look at her again.

"Yeah?"

She glanced down at the ground before meeting Annabeth's gaze. "I knew that you would have never done anything with Percy while we were still dating. I respected you for that."

Annabeth nodded.

"And don't tell him that I was here," Rachel added before she turned away.

Annabeth watched as she jogged down the street and climbed into her car. She sat there for a second with her head leaned against the steering wheel. It was another few seconds until she sat up and pulled away.

As soon as Rachel's car disappeared, Annabeth slipped back inside and closed the door behind her. She leaned her forehead against it and tried to gather her thoughts.

All of that stuff that Rachel had said… Did that mean that she was done bothering Percy? Did that mean that she was finally going to move on?

Before she could figure any of it out, she felt a pair of arms slide around her waist.

"Who was that?" Percy mumbled, pushing his face into her hair.

"Some Girl Scouts," Annabeth lied. It had been years since she lied to Percy like that. "They were selling cookies, so I told them to walk down the street and hit my dad up."

Percy nodded, and his arms tightened around her.

"Are you okay?" Annabeth asked.

"I don't know," he whispered.

She turned to him and took his hands, "That's okay. Let's go finish our nap, and we can order some pizza or something later."

His eyes had this faraway look. He nodded absently.

Annabeth set one of her hands on his cheek, "Hey, I'm right here. I'm right in front of you, okay?"

Percy blinked. After a few seconds the distant look in his eyes faded, and he said, "Yeah. Yeah, you're here."

Ω

She opened the door with her hip, clutching the bag of groceries she had gotten in her hand. She also had a few movies from the Red Box that was at the grocery store, and if they were Percy's favorites then that had happened on accident, she _swears. _

Annabeth knew that Percy was going to be sitting on his couch all day long, avoiding the Homecoming party that most of the other seniors were going to tonight. Annabeth and Percy had planned on going with their other friends, but today must have been a bad day for Percy because Annabeth woke up with a text from him saying that he wasn't going and that he was sorry. The second one said that she should go without him. She had rolled her eyes and driven to the grocery store instead.

It was already almost lunch, and she knew for a fact that Percy had been up since six thirty this morning. He hadn't been sleeping very well since he had found out about Rachel, and the texts from him had been there when she had gotten up. _She _was usually the morning person between the two of them, and it was kind of weird (and a little nice) to wake up with texts and calls from Percy.

She walked through Percy's house and into the kitchen. She set the bags down on the counter and headed to the next room. Annabeth found him sitting on the couch in a pair of black sweatpants. He was missing a shirt, and he was staring at the television so hard he didn't even notice her standing there.

She watched him for a few seconds before she said, "Have you eaten today?"

He jumped at her voice, but relaxed when he realized it was her. He said, "I had breakfast."

Annabeth rolled her eyes and sat down on the couch beside him, "You don't eat breakfast."

"So?" Percy asked.

"So," she slipped under his arm and wedged herself against his side. "I went to the store this morning and bought all of the stuff to make peanut butter and banana sandwiches and those chocolate chip brownies that you love so much."

"You did?" He asked. "I thought you were going to that party tonight."

She hit him on the leg, "I'm not going without you! Duh."

Percy didn't say anything, and when he turned his attention back to the TV, Annabeth realized that he was watching the Hallmark channel.

"You know," he started. "I've been watching movies on this channel all morning, and they are kind of making me feel like a loser for taking this so hard. Like, it shouldn't be that big of a deal. I should be fine. I shouldn't be worried about it anymore."

Annabeth frowned, "Percy, that's not true."

"It should be, if I wasn't such a baby. I mean, other guys get cheated on and stuff, but it just seems like I can't get through one day without thinking about her, you know?" Percy said. "It's pathetic. _I'm _pathetic."

For some reason, his words made Annabeth really mad. How could he think that he should just be able to bounce right back from a five year relationship? How could he think that it would be that easy? If it was Annabeth coming out of a serious relationship like that, she would be a _mess. _She would be all over the place if she had been in a long-term relationship and it had ended like Percy's had.

She turned his head toward her and forced him to meet her gaze. "Percy Jackson, you are not pathetic. You had your heart broken by the girl that you loved. I don't think you understand that you just lost someone that you loved. It's kind of like the Rachel that you knew died because you can't get her back. It would be ridiculous if you just bounced back from a five year relationship overnight. Besides, I think that you are doing good considering."

"Considering? Annabeth, I can't get through one _hour _without thinking of her damn name. What else is there to consider besides me being pathetic and stupid?" Percy asked.

_"Percy." _Annabeth said, twisting around farther to see him. "Did you love her?"

He finally looked at her, but his eyes were hard. "Of _course _I loved her."

Annabeth threw her hands up, "Then how do you expect to get over her that soon? You can't stop loving somebody all at once. It takes time. It's going to take _you _time."

He stood up and ran his hands through his hair, "I'm _tired _of it! I'm tired of thinking of her! I just want to forget it! I want to forget everything thing that happened between us for the past five years. I just want to _forget it." _

She jumped off the couch and snaked her arm around his waist, pulling him to her body. "Then do it! If you want to forget one of the best things that happened to you, do _it! _Rachel taught you a lot of things. She loved you for a long time, and now you're willing to give up all of those memories just because of the way it ended? I know that it's hard, but you were lucky enough to have somebody love you like that for a long time! And now you want to forget it all?"

Percy clutched at her back, but his eyes were on fire. "You don't understand how bad this is. Do you know what this feels like? To have someone who loves you betray you?"

His words slapped Annabeth, and she recoiled, "Of _course _I do. My _mom _left me here! I _know exactly _how you feel right now. I wanted to forget it all too, but once I managed to, I wished for it back. I wished that I wouldn't have thought about her like that because right now I can't even think about my mom without shutting down. I can't stand to think about—"

Normally, Annabeth _never _brought her mom up. She didn't like to think about it, and she figured that her life would be better if she just kept it in the back of her mind. Her mom had left her with her dad when she was six years old. Annabeth had seen her twice in the past eleven years. She had talked to her on the phone eleven times, and every single one of them had been on her birthday. And that was it.

Annabeth's dad was doing the best that he could with her—it could have been worse—but he was still broken about her mom leaving them. That's why he worked all of the time. He couldn't stand to sit in their house where her mom used to read and cook and sing and _love them—_

She did feel like a hypocrite when she told Percy that he shouldn't want to forget everything. After all, that's what she had done. She had just etched away all of the details about her mom without even bothering to think about the consequences.

But Annabeth didn't want Percy to end up broken like she was. She wanted Percy to come back from this, and if he just _forgot _all of it, then he wouldn't be able to love anybody ever again.

Percy pushed his forehead against hers, "Annabeth, I wasn't thinking when I said that."

She tore out of his arms and turned her back to him. She didn't need to be so close to him right now.

"Percy," she started, still turned away from him. "Do you remember how long it took me to forget what my mom did? Do you remember how many nights I spent here with you instead of at home with my dad?"

"A lot," she heard him mumble.

"That's right. I don't want you to do the same thing that I did. Maybe it's better if you just try to accept it. Maybe it wouldn't hurt as much," Annabeth said.

"But I've tried! I don't know _how _to accept it! I just keep expecting her to walk through that door and kiss me and tell me that she loves me. How do I keep from doing that?" Percy asked. She could see the frustrated look on his face even though she wasn't looking at him.

She closed her eyes for a split second before she turned back around. Percy was staring at her. His green eyes were hooded with anger and sadness. Annabeth hated to see him this way.

"I don't know," Annabeth whispered.

Percy pressed his hands into his eyes, "Me either."

She bit her lip but stepped forward anyway, wrapping her arms around him. He folded into her grip, and Annabeth felt his shoulders shaking against her.

"I just don't know what to do anymore," Percy mumbled in her neck.

Annabeth held him tighter, trying to ignore the tears that were making their way down her face. She hoped that Percy wouldn't be able to tell that she was crying.

What could she do to make him get better? How could she help him?

She couldn't think of anything.

"Percy, I don't know what to do or what to say right now, but the _only _thing that I can think of would be for me to tell you that I'm with you," Annabeth said, rubbing her hand down his back. "I'm right here and I'm here for you and I _love _you. Okay?"

His voice broke when he said, "Okay."

Ω

Annabeth flipped through the pages of the magazine, skimming a few of the articles but mostly looking at the pictures.

"Shorter?"

She looked up. She was with Percy, and they were getting his hair cut. It had gotten _way _too long (Rachel had always liked it like that) and Annabeth had told him that he looked like a homeless person. She had nodded happily when he had asked her to come with him to get it cut a week later.

Percy said, "No," as soon as Annabeth said, "Yes."

His hairdresser, a nice woman in her late thirties, laughed. She set her scissors down and said, "Let me go check the phones while you guys decide on that. I'll be right back."

Annabeth got up and walked over to Percy. His hair looked way better—she could actually _see_ his eyebrows—but it still needed to be a little shorter.

He was biting his lip, and he looked kind of nervous. Percy watched her in the mirror, and his eyes closed slowly when she ran her hand through his hair.

"I like it better short," she said. "I know it's been a long time since you've had your hair like that because she liked it long, but I like it way better short. I always have."

Percy didn't say anything. He just stared up at her.

Annabeth traced her hands down to his shoulders and stood behind him until the hairdresser came back.

The older woman smiled and said, "What did we decide?"

Annabeth sat back down and Percy said, "Shorter."

She smiled at him.

Ω

Annabeth remembered the day that Rachel had broken up with Percy. It was a Wednesday, and she knew that Percy and Rachel were going out to get ice cream. Percy had planned on texting her once he dropped Rachel off because he needed some help with his homework, but the texts never came.

Instead, she heard her phone ring. When she had answered, Sally had been in a panic on the other side of the line. She kept asking if Percy was with her or if she had talked to him lately. Annabeth said that she hadn't, and Sally had asked her to go find him _right then _because he hadn't been answering his phone, and he had left a crazy voicemail on her phone.

Annabeth had jumped up and grabbed her car keys. First, she had driven to his house and used the spare key to get inside. She had checked everywhere, but he hadn't been there. She had kept calling his phone over and over, but he hadn't ever answered her.

She had been freaking out. She literally had no idea where he had gone or what could have happened that made him that upset.

Before she had panicked for real, she had thought of one place that he could be. One place where no one would have found him because they wouldn't have even known it was real.

Annabeth drove back over to her house and jumped the backyard fence, climbing her and Percy's favorite tree. Back when they were little, they had stayed in her backyard, climbing a few of the trees, but this one had been their favorite. They could make it close enough to the top so they could see the rest of the neighborhood behind her house.

Sure enough, she had found Percy sitting in one of the top branches, holding his head in his hands. His phone was ringing, but he hadn't moved to answer it.

She careful crawled up the tree and sat down on one of the larger branches beside him. She sent Sally a text and told her that everything was fine before she said anything to him.

"It's been forever since I've been up here," Annabeth had said, looking out over the yard and the other houses.

"Yeah," Percy had said. His voice had been really deep, like he hadn't used it.

"So tell me why we're up here," she asked.

He had hesitated, and Annabeth knew that he didn't want to say it. He had finally glanced over at her and said, "Rachel broke up with me today."

_Ring! Ring!_

Annabeth jumped, jarring herself out of her daydream. Her phone was ringing, so she scooped it up and pressed it to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Hey," he said on the other side of the line. "What are you doing?"

She frowned, "I'm studying. I thought you were supposed to be reading that book for your English class?"

Percy hesitated, "I am, but I've come across a little problem and I need help."

"Okay, hit me with the questions," Annabeth said, rolling over onto her back. She heard a few of her papers crunch underneath her body, but she really didn't care anymore.

"Well, it's not so much a question as a problem. Um, one of the main characters is named Rachel, and she's supposed to be this really cool character and the hero of the book and stuff, but every time I see her name I just get so _mad. _Like, I don't even like her character. And I can't answer the stupid comprehension questions about her because I keep writing mean stuff," Percy said. She could hear the frustration seeping through his voice.

Annabeth frowned again, "What kind of stuff did you write?"

She heard him sigh, and she assumed he was pinching his nose. "The question was something like _Why do you think Rachel is having trouble accepting her new role in the book? _And I wrote, here, I'll read it to you. I wrote, 'she is having trouble because she is a fucking pussy that can't get over the past and when she does she makes everyone else around her miserable, and her red hair is ugly.'" Percy paused for a second then said, "The character in the book doesn't even have red hair. It's blonde."

She tried not to laugh, but she had to put her phone down for a few seconds so Percy wouldn't hear her. The first thing Annabeth could think to say was, "I thought you liked Rachel's red hair?"

"No way," he said, probably rolling his eyes. "Sometimes I had nightmares that we would have little ginger kids. It freaked me the fuck out."

Annabeth rolled her eyes at his profanity. She knew that Percy always cussed more when he was angry about something. She said, "So what do you need me to do?"

"I need you to help me figure out how to read this damn book without ripping the pages out and burning them in my fireplace," he said.

"Okay, I know how to do it. All you need to do is replace the name 'Rachel' with something different. Just rename the character and start the book over. Then, you won't hate her," she said.

"But I'm not going to be able to do that. You know how much I hate reading," he said.

Annabeth sighed, "How many pages are in the book?"

"Um," he hesitated, and she could hear him flipping through the pages. "Like, 205."

She glanced at the clock. It was already four thirty, but Annabeth was almost done with her homework. If Percy came over right now, then it wouldn't take all night. They could probably be finished in time to watch the premiere of that new television series that she was dying to see.

"Okay, get the book and your other homework and bring it with you. Get here as soon as possible, and just come straight up to my room. Dad's not home anyway," she said, getting up and grabbing a pair of shorts to put on.

Percy was quiet for a few seconds until he said, "What?"

"Bring the book over here! I'm going to read it to you! Besides, you'll understand it better anyway if you can just listen to it," Annabeth said. "And if you hurry up, we can watch that new TV show!"

Annabeth thought she heard a smile in his voice when he said, "Okay. Give me ten minutes."

She hung up then and tried to fight the smile that was threatening to spread over her face. She was glad that Percy wasn't that sad anymore, but she wasn't sure if she was glad that he was angry either. She would prefer that he was just _happy_—not mad or sad—but she knew that it wasn't easy, and if he was managing to deal with it through anger, then she was going to be the last person to argue with him about it.

Annabeth managed to finish all of her homework that needed to be done. She was just putting up her Chemistry book when she heard the front door open. She heard Percy stomping up the stairs, and when he opened the door she turned around.

She had thought that he was doing okay today since he had been angry on the phone, but apparently that wasn't the case. His shoulders were still drooping, and his eyes weren't very bright. He threw his skateboard down in the corner of the room and pulled his backpack off of his shoulders without even saying 'hi.'

With a small sigh, Annabeth got up from her desk and hugged him from behind. When she glanced down and saw his skateboard, she realized why he was so upset.

"I need a new skateboard," Percy said.

Technically, he didn't. His board worked fine, but Annabeth remembered that Percy had gotten it as an anniversary present from Rachel. Annabeth had bought him his first one for his birthday a _long _time before he had started dating Rachel, but he had really needed a new one when Rachel had bought that one. She had written on the bottom of it, 'I love you!' and had signed her name with a heart.

"Yeah. We should go pick one out next week. I need new elbow pads for my roller blades anyway," Annabeth said, squeezing her arms around him tighter.

"Okay," Percy said. "Are you sure that you want to read this book? I don't want you to waste your time just because of me. I mean, you probably have something better to do anyway and—"

She let go of him and grabbed his hand instead, pulling him toward her bed, "If I had something better to do I wouldn't have offered. Now come on, I've wanted to read this book anyway."

Percy stopped her right before she sat down on her bed. He was looking at her with this expression, and Annabeth couldn't really tell what it was. "You just—you're great, you know? I mean, I've been all over the place for the last few weeks, and you've always been here for me and I don't know how to thank you because I just—I love you, you know?"

"I know," She said, pressing a kiss to his forehead and trying not to wonder if he meant something besides a best friend _I love you_. "I love you, too. Come on. Relax and let me read this book to you."

"Okay," he murmured, letting her pull him down on her bed. Annabeth leaned back against the headboard, and Percy pressed against her side, letting his head rest on her shoulder.

Annabeth started reading, and Percy held on to her tighter than he normally did.

Ω

"I mean, she gave this to me too, but I wear it all of the time…" Percy mumbled, holding up a sweatshirt.

Annabeth sighed from where she was laying on his bed. Percy was cleaning out his room (a.k.a. getting rid of all of the stuff that Rachel had given him; even though they had dated for five years, it wasn't as much as Annabeth had expected) and he had called Annabeth earlier, demanding that she come help him. She hadn't been doing much, so she had claimed her usual spot on his bed with her book in her hand.

"If you wear it all of the time, keep it," Annabeth said, peeking over the top of her book. "Why are you getting rid of all of this stuff?"

He frowned at her, but threw the sweatshirt in the pile of stuff (it was relatively small, Annabeth thought that Rachel would have bought him more stuff over five years) that he was getting rid of. "I want it all gone. I don't want to think about it anymore. Maybe it would be easier to get over her if I threw out all of the stuff that reminded me of her."

"Okay," Annabeth said with a nod and a soft look. "Get rid of it, and I will go with you and pick out all new stuff. Then it will be like I gave it to you."

Percy looked over at her, and she thought that his expression was more like a smile. "You know," he said, turning back to his closet and throwing another shirt onto the pile. "This break-up is getting pretty expensive."

"It can't be more expensive than paying for dates all of the time," Annabeth said, making her voice light enough so he wouldn't take it the wrong way.

"That's true," Percy said. He didn't bother to turn around so his voice was a little muffled. "Now I only have one girl to take out and pay for, huh?"

Annabeth studied his back for a few seconds before she looked back down to her book, "That's right, and she's the best."

She suspected _(wished)_ that he was wearing a dreamy expression when he said, "Yeah, she is."

Annabeth was glad that he wasn't looking at her because she was smiling like an idiot as she read her book.

Ω

The red light changed to green just as her phone rang, so she hurried to pick it up and answer it. The car behind her honked angrily before she pressed the gas pedal.

"Hello?" She said, holding her phone to her ear with one hand.

"Annabeth," Sally said urgently. Her voice was wobbly. "Where are you?"

She frowned, "I'm on my way home, why? What's wrong?"

"We're at the hospital. Percy—" Sally's voice broke. "You need to hurry. Just. Hurry."

She dropped the phone and stepped on the gas pedal.

What was wrong with Percy? Why were they at the hospital? Did something happen that could have hurt him? _What was wrong?_

Annabeth had been on her way home to meet Percy. They were planning on studying for a while for their English test that was on Friday. She had offered to pick him up at his house, but he had declined and told her that he would rather ride his skateboard. Apparently, it gave him time to think. She had told him to text her when he got there, but he never had. Annabeth just assumed that he forgot and was lounging in her room already. She _never _would have thought that it was because—

Is _that _what had happened? Is that why they were at the hospital? Had something happened to Percy on his way to her house?

She pulled up at the hospital and jerked the keys out of the ignition. She jumped out of the car and ran for the Emergency Room doors.

She rushed over to the door in the waiting room that led to the back where the nurses and doctors took care of the patients. She hit the call button and when the nurse asked her what she needed she said, "I'm here to see Percy Jackson."

"Percy Jackson is in critical care. Close family members are only allowed back. What is your relationship to him?" The nurse answered.

So obviously "best friend" wasn't going to get her back there. Maybe that's why she blurted out, "I'm his girlfriend. Please."

A few seconds later the nurse said, "Room 16," and the door clicked open.

Annabeth walked through the hall, and she finally found his room. The door was halfway open, so she slipped inside. She stopped cold when she saw him.

Percy was lying in a hospital bed. His eyes were closed, and there was a bandage wrapped around his head. The side of his face was slowly bruising so he already had a black eye. His nose must have been bleeding earlier because there was still a little bit of blood on his face. His shirt was ripped to pieces, and his jeans were splattered with blood and dirt. He was missing one of his sneakers, and the sock on his foot was tinted red. There were a few wires poking out of his arm from the I.V. He also had an oxygen mask sitting on his nose and mouth to help him breathe.

Tears were streaming from Annabeth's eyes, but she didn't even bother to wipe her face.

"Annabeth!" Sally said. The older woman was standing next to Percy, and she rushed over to Annabeth, pulling her into a hug. Annabeth didn't take her eyes off of him.

"What _happened?" _She asked. Her voice broke.

Sally kept one of her arms around Annabeth's waist before she turned back toward Percy. "He was riding his skateboard to your house, and when he crossed the road, a car ran a red light. They found his wallet when they got here, and they called me. The nurses said that he probably has a concussion because he hasn't been awake since the ambulance brought him inside."

"Oh my god," Annabeth muttered. "Can I…?"

Sally smiled tightly and nudged her in Percy's direction. "Of course, sweetheart. I'm so glad that you came. I didn't want to sit in here by myself."

Annabeth blinked, "Yeah, I'm glad you called me. I want to be here."

Percy's mom sighed, and she said, "I'm just going to step outside for a minute and get some air. Just until the doctor comes in."

Annabeth nodded and watched as Sally squeezed out of the door and closed it behind her. After she was gone, Annabeth walked over to Percy and stood in the corner by his head. His eyes were still closed, but his breathing sounded okay. She gently ran her fingers through his hair (the part that wasn't covered by the bandage) and down his face, trying to avoid the oxygen mask and the worst of his bruises.

She couldn't believe that this had happened. Annabeth was _still _shaking. What if Percy had gotten even more hurt in the accident? What if—No. She wouldn't think that. She realized that Percy was a major part of her life. He was one of the only things that she really had left.

And she had almost _lost him. _

So she just stood there beside him, listening to him breathe through an oxygen mask and trying to get herself to calm down.

The door opened, and Sally came inside with a doctor behind her.

He was an older man with brown hair and warm brown eyes. He looked at Percy quickly, before looking at Annabeth and then Sally. He seemed like he knew what he was talking about when he said, "Hi, I'm Dr. Reynolds. We already did a full body x-ray, and his right wrist is broken, which we are going to put a cast on soon. All of his internal organs look fine, and I am pleased to tell you that he doesn't have a concussion. We are going to keep him hospitalized for a few days just to make sure there aren't any other complications that we may have missed."

Annabeth and Sally both sighed in relief. Sally said, "So he's going to be okay?"

"He's going to be fine," Dr. Reynolds said. He shook Sally's hand and moved toward the door. "My nurses are going to come in and check his vitals and then we are going to move him up to a private room. You ladies take care."

"Thank you," Sally said, closing the door behind him.

Annabeth ran to Sally and hugged her fiercely. They stood there with their arms around each other and watched Percy until the nurses came in and got ready to move him.

Ω

She was really tired.

After they had moved Percy out of the Emergency Room and upstairs, Annabeth had called her dad and told him where she was. He had been concerned, and he had stopped and got them dinner before bringing it to the hospital. Annabeth, her dad, and Sally had all sat in Percy's room, eating Chinese takeout and hoping that Percy would wake up soon. The doctors and nurses said that it could still be a while but that he was fine.

They had finished dinner, and Annabeth's dad had convinced Sally to take a walk. They had left, leaving Annabeth to stay with Percy—not that she minded.

Right now, she was sitting in a chair beside Percy's bed. She was holding his hand (the one without the cast), and she had her feet propped up on the edge of his hospital bed. She was watching the television that was hung on the wall—an old nineties show, _Friends_, was the only thing on—but Annabeth was paying more attention to Percy's breathing.

She had finally calmed down. After hearing the doctor say that he would be okay, her world had fallen back into place. Now, she just needed him to wake up so she could tell him to stop being an idiot and maybe _look _before he crossed the damn road.

Suddenly, Percy moved and let out a long breath. Annabeth sat up sharply and studied him.

"Percy?" Annabeth asked softly. "It's okay. You can wake up. You're okay."

Slowly, his eyes fluttered open, and when green met grey Annabeth wanted to cry in relief and joy.

She stood up and leaned over him so he could see her, "Hey, Percy, just take your time."

"Annabeth?" He moaned. His voice was hoarse.

She smiled and gently set her hand on his face, "I'm right here. You're okay. I'm right here."

"What happened?" He asked. "Where are we?"

"We're in the hospital," she said, making her voice as soft as possible. "You were riding your skateboard to my house, and a car hit you. You broke your wrist and you hit your head really hard. But you're okay."

"Mmm," Percy hummed. He looked around the room before meeting her gaze again. "How long do we have to stay here?"

Annabeth pushed his hair back. Since they had gotten it cut last week it wasn't long enough for her to actually push it out of his eyes, but she knew that he loved it when she played with his hair. She gave him a small smile, "Just a few days. They want to make sure that you're okay."

He swallowed and looked at her, "How long?"

"A few hours. You were unconscious for a really long time. It scared me and your mom to death," Annabeth scolded lightly, bringing his hand up to her face.

"Mom?" Percy croaked. "She's going to kill me."

"_I'm _going to kill you first," she said. "What the hell were you doing?"

He smiled, and Annabeth couldn't help but grin too. "I don't know. I honestly can't remember what happened."

"That's okay," she said immediately. "You're awake now, and that's all that matters."

Percy blinked and gripped her hand a little tighter. He was quiet for a few seconds before he said, "Annabeth?"

"Yes?"

"Is… Has Rachel been here?"

His question kind of upset Annabeth. She didn't think it was fair. _She _had been here since Sally had called. _She _had been the one that had been worried to literal death about him. _She _had been the one that had been holding his hand when he woke up. And the first thing he can think about is asking where his ex-girlfriend is?

But then she remembered that he knew that Annabeth cared about him. He knew that she had been worried. He knew that she was the one that was with him. Annabeth had never been good with containing her jealousy, but there was absolutely no reason for her to get upset with him right now. Percy was just wondering if Rachel had ever come to her senses and came back to him. He probably knew that she hadn't, but he still needed to ask.

Annabeth shook her head, "I haven't heard from her. I checked your phone, but she hasn't texted you or called or anything."

Percy nodded a little, being careful not to jar his head, "I figured that. Annabeth?"

She bit her lip, "Yeah?"

"I'm glad you're here," he said. There were a few tears gathering in the corner of his eyes. "Don't leave me."

She leaned down closer to him and let her other arm circle his head so she could trace circles on his neck. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm right here."

Ω

Annabeth got off of the elevator, squeezing past a few people who were trying to get on.

Today was the first time that she had left the hospital since yesterday afternoon when he had been admitted. She had only been gone for two hours, but it still felt like it had been too long.

And it had been necessary. She had gone home and taken a quick shower and changed her clothes. She had also gone by Percy's house and grabbed him a new set of clothes to wear when he got to go home. As a bonus and a surprise for Percy, she had gone to his favorite skateboard shop and bought him a new one. His other had been snapped in half in the accident.

His new board was _awesome. _She had called earlier this morning and told the manager what she wanted—Percy had always liked the plain black boards with blue colored wheels—and when she had picked it up she had grinned because it was perfect. She had signed the bottom of it, and the shop had covered it with a clear coat of paint so it wouldn't ever fade. She was _so _excited to give it to him.

Annabeth turned the corner to his room, smiling already. She was going to wake him up and see how he was doing, then he was going to freak over his new skateboard. He would probably be so excited that he would hug her and—

She stopped cold when she opened the door and saw who was visiting.

Rachel Dare was standing by Percy's hospital bed. She had her hands behind her back like she was afraid of touching him. When she heard the door open, she turned around. Annabeth could see tears on her face.

Thankfully, Percy was asleep, so he didn't know that Rachel was here.

"Annabeth," Rachel said, turning around to see her. "What _happened? _And why didn't you call me? I had to find out that he was in the hospital from your _Snapchat!"_

She scowled at the other girl, "I didn't have a reason to call you. Percy didn't tell me to, and you don't have a relationship with him anymore."

"That shouldn't matter! You should have called me and told me how he was doing!" Rachel said crossly.

"Rachel," Annabeth hissed. "I can't call you every time something happens to Percy. Do you want me to call you when he fails a test? Or maybe when he has a dentist appointment? What about when he is so upset that he can't eat because _you _broke up with him? You aren't part of his life anymore. You might still be one of his "friends," if he even considers you to be, but this really isn't any of your business. I put how he was doing on my Snapchat so our _friends _could see it and know how he was doing. That's what category you fall in now, so that's how you're going to get updates about how Percy's life is."

She shook her head and crossed her arms, "That isn't fair, Annabeth. I deserve better than that, and you know it."

"Actually, I _know _that you don't deserve that. You don't deserve to be here with him. _I do. _I'm the one that's been here for him. I'm the one that cares about him. I'm the one that's his best friend. I don't make his decisions for him, but when he asked me if you had called or texted him I told him the truth. Not once did he ask me to call you and tell you what happened. This is his call not mine, but I support it. You guys aren't together, and he shouldn't have to call you about everything that happens," she snapped. Her voice got really loud, but she knew that Percy wouldn't wake up. He slept like a rock.

Rachel was really crying now, and she glanced back over at Percy, "Just because I broke up with him doesn't mean I don't love him anymore."

"It doesn't matter. He's not yours anymore," Annabeth said shortly.

"Well, he's not yours either!" Rachel said.

Annabeth scowled at her, "He _is _mine. Percy _knows _that he belongs to me."

"You guys aren't even dating! How can—"

Annabeth turned around quickly and Rachel stopped talking when they heard Percy's breathing change. He exhaled loudly and shifted in his bed. He sighed and then said, "Annabeth."

She walked over to him, but his eyes were still closed. It looked like he was snoozing peacefully. He must have heard her talking, and then said her name in his sleep. He talked in his sleep sometime.

Annabeth looked back over to Rachel, and she had her hand covering her mouth, like she couldn't believe that Percy had said Annabeth's name instead of hers.

Annabeth sighed and moved away from Percy so she could talk to Rachel.

"Look, Rachel," she started. "We've already had this conversation once. I can't just call you when something happens with Percy. If he wants to talk to you, then he's either going to tell me to call or he's going to do it himself. He's starting to get better, and I know that he's going to be okay with a little more time. If you want to know how he is, then you need to call or text me. I don't want him to think that you want something that you don't just because you're wondering how he is doing. I'm sorry that you came all the way down here, but I still can't let you talk to him."

Rachel looked away and kept her hand over her mouth. Her shoulders were shaking, and she looked as sad as Percy had the last few weeks. Annabeth felt a little sorry for her, (after all they had been friends before) but she tried not to focus on that.

The red-headed girl nodded sadly, "Okay, just. Send me a text when they release him?"

Annabeth gave her a nod.

Her eyes flickered down to Percy's new skateboard that was still in her hands. Annabeth could barely understand her when she said, "And he's going to love that skateboard."

Annabeth nodded again as Rachel took one last look at Percy before she ran out of the room.

Annabeth sighed after a few seconds and then shut the door. She tried to shake her thoughts as she sat down in the chair beside Percy and pulled his new skateboard into her lap. He was still muttering her name, so Annabeth took his hand and played with his fingers until he woke up.

After he blinked a few times and realized it was her, he smiled and said, "Annabeth? You were just in my dream."

"Oh yeah?" She asked. She smiled at him, and she hoped that he couldn't tell that she had just been in an argument. "What was it about?"

He shrugged as he looked up at her, "You were just talking to me. You said that we would go to the movies, but we were going to skateboard. It was weird because Mom said that my skateboard broke so I guess I don't have one anymore."

Annabeth grinned and said, "Your _old _one broke. Your new one is perfectly fine."

"My new-?" Percy furrowed his eyebrows, but a wonderstruck look broke onto his face when Annabeth stood and held up his new board. She handed it to him, and he set it in his lap, running his hands over it.

"Do you like it?" Annabeth asked, biting her lip to keep from grinning.

He was wearing an amazed expression, and Annabeth _loved _it. "Like it? Annabeth, I _love _it. When did you…?"

"This morning when I went home to take a shower, I stopped by and got it from your favorite shop," she said. She pointed to his backpack that was sitting in the chair behind her. "I also brought you some new clothes. But look at the bottom of the board."

Percy flipped it over, and he looked up at her again when he had read it.

When Annabeth had gotten to the shop this morning, the manager had reminded her that she could write something on the bottom of it. He remembered that Percy's last board had a message from Rachel written on the bottom of it. It had taken Annabeth a little while to decide what to put on it, but she had finally went with _I'm here _and her name.

Percy pushed the board down his legs and reached up, quickly grabbing Annabeth in a hug. He had his good arm thrown around her neck, and he was holding onto her like he hadn't seen her in forever.

"I don't plan on letting go anytime soon, so you should probably make yourself comfortable," Percy said in her ear.

Annabeth laughed and sat down on the edge of his bed. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her up so she was sitting at his side. She snaked one arm around his middle and leaned her head against his shoulder. She used her other hand and grabbed his skateboard, bringing it up to their laps.

"I can't believe that you got me this. You didn't have to," Percy said, pressing a kiss to her temple. Annabeth smothered a grin.

She shrugged, "I wanted to. Besides, I wanted you to have something from me."

"But I have _you," _Percy said, pressing his nose into her hair.

Annabeth couldn't hold her grin back at that. When Percy said stuff like that and gave her kisses, she wasn't sure where they stood. Right now, they were labeled as "best friends," but Annabeth didn't know if they would ever make it to the tipping point to date. She wasn't sure if Percy was ready for that. Hell, she didn't know if _she _was ready for that. A relationship might be the last thing that either of them needed right now.

Even if that was true, it didn't really matter. She had him, and he had her. Just like he had said.

"Yeah," Annabeth said, leaning further into his arms. "Yeah. You've got me."

* * *

**A/N: I hope you liked it! Leave a review!**

**-SMC**


	2. Part 2--I'm Here

**A/N: This is the second part, and I hope that you guys like it as much as the first. Even though it's only been a day since I put the first part up, the response I've gotten is pretty awesome. I'm glad that you guys like it so much! **

**Warnings: This AU is full of angst, adult situations, and profanity. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own ****_Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Heroes of Olympus, _****or anything else that you might recognize.**

**This AU is dedicated to MaydayParade8123. Go check out all of her amazing stories! I have the link on my profile if you need it. **

**There is also a poll on my profile about some sequels. If you're interested, go check it out. **

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Annabeth sent Rachel a text message while Percy was in the shower, just like she had promised. Sure, she felt a little guilty, and she didn't want to let Percy see her doing it. She just felt like she _owed _it to Rachel to let her know how he was doing. Sometimes Annabeth forgot that Rachel missed Percy as much as he missed her. And besides, if it was Annabeth that was going without Percy, she would be dying to know if he was okay.

It was the least that Annabeth could do after they had been friends for so long.

She sent one long message that wouldn't require a reply telling her that they were home and that Percy was doing well. She told her that he still had the cast on his arm and that his eye was still bruised. She had even mentioned that he had loved his skateboard.

It was sent just in time. Annabeth had been lying on Percy's bed, and Percy walked back into the room just as Rachel replied with an 'okay.'

"Who are you texting?" Percy asked as he turned to his dresser to grab some clothes.

Annabeth should have just lied to him and said that it was her dad, but she already felt bad enough about not telling him that Rachel had come to see him while he was in the hospital. Would it really be so bad if she just told him? Why _couldn't_ she just tell him?

"Um, Rachel Dare," Annabeth said.

She watched as Percy stiffened. He was standing with his back to her, and he was gripping the edge of his dresser. He still had a towel wrapped around his waist, and even from here Annabeth could see all of the muscles in his back clenching. He had missed a spot when he was drying off after his shower so some of his skin was glinting with water and—

_Stop! _Annabeth reprimanded herself. She shouldn't be thinking about Percy like that. He was her _best friend _for god's sake. She didn't need to think like that. Even if she did like him _like that _then she still shouldn't think it because she would do something stupid and—

Percy's body relaxed and he turned around to look at her. He tipped his head to the side. Since his face was still kind of bruised, Annabeth didn't like how much the dark spots contrasted with his green eyes.

He was frowning, "Why are you texting Rachel? And close your eyes. I need to get dressed."

Annabeth rolled over so she was facing the wall, and she closed her eyes for good measure. She said, "She asked me to let her know when we got home and how you were doing. I felt like I owed her."

"Owed her? Why?" Percy asked. Annabeth heard him pulling open a few drawers. "After all of the stuff that she did to me? Not to mention all of the rumors her friends spread about you."

"I know all of that stuff, Percy, but I used to be her friend too," she said, pulling at one of the blankets she was lying on.

"What are you saying? Do you wish you had stayed friends with her?" He asked in a short voice.

Annabeth sighed, "No, that's not what I mean. I just—I felt like I owed it to her. That's all."

"I don't think you owe her anything," he said.

"So are you saying that you don't want me to text her how you're doing?"

"That's not what I'm saying. I'm just wondering if you wish that you would have picked her over me," his voice faded, and Annabeth knew that he was taking his towel back to his bathroom so she could turn around.

She scowled when he came back in, "I can't believe you just said that to me."

Percy just looked at her. He had his arms crossed over his chest. He was still missing a shirt, but Annabeth knew that he needed help putting the bandages on the cuts on his side.

She stood up from his bed and snatched the cream and bandages from his desk before stomping over to him. She grabbed his hand and twisted him around, making sure she was extra careful while she put it on the cuts. She knew that he was still pretty sore.

While she was working on his side, she said, "I don't ever want you to say anything else like that to me again. If I still wanted to be friends with Rachel then I would be. If I had wanted to pick her over you then I would have. _You're _my best friend. I'm with _you. _It pisses me off that after everything I've done for you that you think I would rather be hanging out with Rachel. If I wanted to do it, then I would. There," she finished as she put the bandage on.

"Annabeth—" Percy started.

She leaned up and poked him in the chest, "Don't. I'm still mad. I get that you're tired and still a little upset, but you shouldn't be taking that out on me. I'm sorry that I can't handle it today. Just go to sleep or something and whenever you remember that I'm here for _you _and that I love _you _then you can call me."

Before he could say anything else, she walked out of his room, stopped by the bathroom and washed her hands, then she was gone.

Ω

It took Percy exactly seventeen minutes to call her.

She was already at home, and she had just been about to get in the shower when her phone rang. She had considered not answering and seeing how he liked the silent treatment, but her resolve broke when she saw his contact picture. He was making a weird face at the camera, and Annabeth rolled her eyes. Just looking at a picture of him would make her give up anything she had originally planned.

"I'm getting in the shower," Annabeth said instead of a greeting. "Hurry up."

"Annabeth, I'm sorry that I said that stuff to you. I didn't mean it. I know that you're my best friend, and I know that you love me. It just hurt when you said her name. It hurt when you said that you felt like you owed her because if _anything _she owes you. I'm sorry that I got mad like that, but it just bothered me when you said it like that, and I guess I've just been tired and stuff, but still. That's not an excuse. I'm just. I'm sorry," Percy spilled in a rush.

"It's okay," she said, clutching the counter in her bathroom. "I just couldn't believe that you thought that I could have wanted to be there for her instead of you. I thought that you knew that you mean the world to me."

His voice was soft when he said, "No, I know that. I was just being stupid."

"Yeah," Annabeth breathed, "Yeah, you were."

He laughed quietly, and the sound made Annabeth smile. "I know. I hate to ask you this, but… Would you maybe come back over after you get out of the shower? I, um, my arms feel kind of empty without you."

Annabeth nearly fell over herself because she was so surprised at him saying that. She found herself saying, "Yeah. Give me half an hour. Surely your empty arms can make it that long."

She could _see_ the embarrassed look on his face as he said, "I hope so. Hurry up!"

"Okay," she said. "Love you!"

Wait. What. Had she just done that? Had she really just done that? Sure, she told him that she loved him all of the time, but she always covered it up with something else. She never really just let it hang at the end of any conversation.

But Percy said, "Love you too," before he hung up.

Annabeth stood there, blushing from head to toe, wondering if he meant it the way that she did. He probably didn't, but as long as he was saying it, then it didn't matter.

Ω

Annabeth didn't feel right doing this. The waiter came back with a water for her, and she mumbled a quick thank you.

She was out to lunch with Rachel Dare (Annabeth didn't know why she always used her last name like that when she was referring to the other girl). Rachel had called her earlier this week and had asked if she wanted to go out and do something together. She didn't know why she had said yes.

Annabeth hadn't told Percy where she was going either. He had texted her this morning, but instead of telling him the truth, she had told him that she was meeting her dad for lunch. Sure, she felt bad for lying to Percy, but they had both gotten mad the other day when she had told him the truth, and she wasn't ready to fight again.

Rachel cleared her throat, and Annabeth looked up. She looked just as uncomfortable as Annabeth felt, but at least they were trying to be friends again.

"So," Rachel started. "How are you and Percy doing?"

"Percy's fine. He's still a little sore from the accident, but he's okay right now—" Annabeth started.

She interrupted, "No, I meant how you _two_ aredoing. Not just Percy."

Annabeth blinked, "I mean, I guess we're fine. I don't really—"

"I honestly thought you guys would be together by now," she said.

Annabeth tried not to blush, but it wasn't working. What had she been thinking when she agreed to this? Of _course _Rachel would ask about her and Percy. Back when they had been really good friends, all they had done when they were together was talk about either Rachel's relationship with Percy (and now Annabeth knew some stuff about Percy that she wished she didn't) or Annabeth's non-existent relationships or college. Sure, sometimes it was boring, but Annabeth really liked having Rachel to talk to. She just felt weird when she tried to talk to Percy about a guy that she thought was cute, and Rachel had never really laughed at her for anything.

She had kind of… missed this.

"He's still a little… broken," Annabeth admitted. "I don't think that he's ready for a relationship."

"I guess it's my fault then, huh?"

Annabeth didn't really know what to say. She still blamed Rachel a little for what happened with Percy, but she knew from personal experience that Percy was a little difficult to deal with sometimes. Lately, she was having a hard time remembering that all of this was Rachel's fault. Maybe that meant that she didn't need to blame Rachel anymore. Maybe it would it make her feel better if she just let it go and tried to be friends with her again.

"Not really. I mean, if you hadn't broken up with him then I think he would have married you," she said finally.

"That's not true," Rachel said.

Annabeth shrugged, "I know him. He would have married you."

"We would have gotten divorced in no time," Rachel said. "Besides, there's no way that you would have let him marry me."

"I'm just the best friend. I wouldn't have stopped him," Annabeth said.

Rachel didn't say anything, and they just stared at each other for a few seconds. She looked a lot different than she did a few weeks ago. Her eyes had their usual sparkle back. She looked _happy. _

"How are things with Mark? You're with him right?" Annabeth asked.

"Oh, I'm not with him. We just… hang out?" Rachel said awkwardly.

Annabeth laughed at her expression, "Yeah. I'm sure that's what happens."

She shrugged, "It's fun. Mark is too much of a dick to date though."

"Yeah," Annabeth said. "Rachel, do you think this is weird?"

"What?" She asked. "Us going to lunch together?"

"Yeah."

"No," Rachel said, tipping her head to the side. She took a sip of her drink. "Why would it be weird?"

"I don't know. I just feel like I'm betraying Percy. I didn't even tell him where I was going. Last week when I texted you he asked me who it was, and he flipped out when I told him that it was you," Annabeth explained.

Rachel at least had the decency to look embarrassed, "Oh. Is he still mad at you?"

"No. It took him twenty minutes to call me and apologize," Annabeth said.

Rachel raised her eyebrows, "He must love you more than he loved me. When I got mad and walked out on him he always waited two or three days before he called."

"I don't know. I know that he loves me, but I'm not sure if it's just because I'm his best friend or if it's something more," she said cautiously.

Rachel looked skeptical, "Percy Jackson is way different than any other guy that I have ever met. When we first started dating, and I realized that you were his best friend, I figured we wouldn't last. I saw how much you meant to him, and the longer we dated, it seemed like you got more important every day. Even when he wouldn't talk to me, he would always be able to call or text you. Or when he felt like being alone, he could always go to your house and spend time with you. It bothered me, but since you and I were really good friends, I knew that you wouldn't let anything happen. And now, when I see the stuff that he puts on his Snapchat or his Instagram, or even the way that he looks at you when we're at school, it's different than it used to be. He's not looking at you like a best friend anymore. Even I can tell, and I'm not even around him that much anymore."

Annabeth was speechless. Percy really looked at her like that? He really thought about her as more than his best friend? How had Annabeth not seen it? Maybe she had just been so used to seeing him every day, and she had just gotten used to the looks he gave her. Maybe she hadn't noticed it because she had gotten used to it and started expecting it.

"He does love you," Rachel continued. "He probably just doesn't know it yet."

Ω

Annabeth let herself into the house, smiling when she heard Sally in the kitchen cooking dinner.

"Sally?" She asked, walking into the room.

Percy's mom was standing at the counter, chopping up some vegetables. There was a pot of water boiling on the stove, and as Annabeth watched, she dropped some of the vegetables into it. The older woman turned at her voice, and she smiled, reaching out for a hug.

Annabeth had always loved Sally's hugs. They were almost as good as Percy's.

"Annabeth!" She exclaimed. "I didn't know you were coming over! You have to stay for dinner. I'm making this new recipe, and I need you to be here to counter Percy when he says that it's awful."

She laughed, "It will not be awful! But yes, I'll stay if you don't mind."

"Of course I don't!" Sally said, pushing a curl behind Annabeth's ear. "We love to have you over for dinner!"

Annabeth laughed and smiled, "Okay, thanks. Is Percy here?"

"He's in his room. He said that his arm was hurting, and that he was going to take a nap," Sally said. "Go check on him. I haven't been up there."

She nodded and headed for the stairs, "Okay."

Annabeth climbed the stairs and walked down the hallway until she got to Percy's room. The door was closed, but she opened it slowly, slipping inside the room.

Percy was lying on his bed. He had his arms and legs tossed across the bed, covering it from every side. He had his bad arm hanging off of the side of the bed (no wonder it was hurting), his fingers grazing the floor. He was muttering something, but Annabeth couldn't understand what he was saying. He had on a pair of boxers and an old t-shirt that he slept in all of the time.

She frowned and before she knew what she was doing, she shut the door behind her and walked over to his bed, picking his arm up and holding it. She sat down on the edge of his bed and scooted over until she was resting comfortably against the headboard. She gently moved Percy's arm until she could cradle it to her chest so it would stop hurting. She was wearing a tank top today, so Percy's fingers were brushing her collarbone. Annabeth had read that you were supposed to keep injuries above your heart to keep it from throbbing, so maybe his arm would stop hurting now.

He shifted beside her and threw one of his legs over hers. He was still lying on his stomach, and he had his face buried in his pillow. He sounded like he was still asleep. Annabeth put her other arm around him so she could trace her fingers through his hair and down his shoulders.

It took him another thirty minutes to wake up (in which time Annabeth had touched every part of him that she could reach and memorized every detail about him that she hadn't already known). Percy inhaled loudly and turned over, blinking up at her. He looked a little disoriented (and really cute), and he smiled lightly.

"Hey," Annabeth said softly.

He tapped his fingers against her collarbone, "I don't remember you being here when I fell asleep."

"That's because I wasn't. I got here about half an hour ago," she said.

"So you snuck into my bedroom to come cuddle with _me?" _He asked smugly.

Annabeth cuffed him on the head, "Your mom actually sent me up here to check on _someone_."

Percy grunted, and she smoothed his hair down. He was quiet.

"How's your arm?" She asked, running one of her hands down his cast.

"Better now," Percy said, looking up at her with a smile. "I'm going to keep you here as my new pillow. You can't leave."

"I can't leave?" She asked, amused.

He pushed his face into her side, "No."

"Mmm… Okay," Annabeth said.

Percy looked up at her, "Okay?"

"Sure. This seems like a pretty good deal. I can just sit here and read my book and—"

"And snuggle with me," he said. "Let's not forget the best part."

Annabeth laughed, but it sounded kind of wrong. She sounded pretty nervous and unsure of herself when she shouldn't. Normally being with Percy was as easy as breathing. Hanging out with him was one thing that always came naturally to her. And it _should. _She had been with him for the past thirteen years. She knew him better than she knew herself.

Which also meant that Percy knew her inside and out too. He frowned at her and said, "What's wrong?"

She shook her head and didn't meet his eyes, "Nothing."

"Come on, Annabeth. Something is wrong. I know you," he said softly, reaching up with his other hand and touching her jaw.

The words bubbled to her lips before she could stop them. "I lied to you."

Percy didn't stop tracing his fingers across her jaw, and his voice was soft when he said, "About what?"

"I went out to lunch with Rachel today, not my dad."

Annabeth didn't know what she was expecting him to do. Maybe she thought he would get mad and not talk to her for the next few days. Maybe she thought he would yell at her for lying. Maybe she thought that he would get upset because she was trying to be friends with Rachel again.

He didn't do any of those things. Instead, he kept tracing circles on her skin and raised an eyebrow. He said, "Okay."

"And that day before your accident when we were taking a nap after school and I answered the door, it was Rachel. She was here to talk to you, but I wouldn't let her," Annabeth spilled. She was talking way too fast, and she was staring up at the ceiling. "And when we were in the hospital the day that I gave you your skateboard, Rachel came to visit you. I told her to leave because I still wouldn't let her talk to you."

Percy said, "Okay."

"That's it? Okay? That's all I get?" Annabeth asked, feeling tears well up in her eyes. "I know that I shouldn't have done it. I know that I should have told you sooner, but the other day we got into that fight, and I just didn't want to do it again and—"

"Annabeth," Percy said, putting his fingers on her lips to make her stop talking. "I'm not mad. I said okay because it is okay."

"No, it's _not_ okay," she said. A few of the tears dripped down her cheeks. "I lied to you about Rachel. You were miserable because you thought that she didn't care, and it was just because I was lying to you. You should be mad at me. You should hate me. You could be back with Rachel right now but I lied and—"

Percy sat up and covered her mouth with his hand. He turned her head to his so she had to meet his eyes.

"Stop, Annabeth," Percy said. His voice was hard. "You did that stuff to protect me. If you had told me that she had been there then I would have listened to her and begged her to take me back. If you had let me, I would be right back with her getting cheated on and treated like shit. You saved me from that, Annabeth. So what if you tossed in a few lies? I mean, they were to protect me. I would do the same for you."

She didn't know why she was acting like this. Percy had _just _said that it wasn't a big deal, so why was she crying and thinking that it was? Why didn't she just smile at him and forget it?

Maybe it had something to do with going out to lunch with Rachel. Ever since she had left the restaurant she had been all over the place. Her thoughts had been scattered, and she could physically feel her heart beating faster.

Actually, she knew what it was. Just thinking that Percy could possibly _maybe _love her had her stomach twisted into knots. What if he really did? What if he cared about her like she cared about him? What if Rachel was right? What if—?

"Okay," Annabeth said finally, swiping the tears from her face and hoping that Percy hadn't noticed.

He did though. He leaned up farther and gently brushed at her eyes, removing the last of her tears. He frowned at her, "Why did you get so upset?"

She shook her head. She didn't want to tell him. Instead, she said, "I don't know."

Percy pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes. He looked like he wanted to push her to find out what was wrong, but he didn't say anything else. Maybe he was afraid that she would keep crying if he asked her about it again. She knew that Percy hated it when she was upset.

"Fine," he said. "At least tell me how your lunch with Rachel went."

She stiffened at the question. Why was he asking about Rachel? She blinked at him, "It was fine."

He just looked at her without saying anything so she felt like she had to continue.

"I mean, it was kind of awkward too. We used to hang out together all of the time, and I think it was kind of difficult for me to get used to her again? But, it was kind of… fun," Annabeth stammered, looking toward the window to avoid his gaze.

Percy was looking at her with this expression, and something inside of her clicked into place. His green eyes were soft, and his lips were turned up into a small smile. His black hair was sticking up in plenty of different directions, but it was cute.

Looking at him right then, Annabeth realized that it was dumb to be nervous around him. Even if their feelings had changed, he was still Percy and she was still Annabeth. They were best friends. Maybe they would change the label soon, but it wasn't going to change who they were. It wouldn't change how they were together.

His good arm slipped around her waist and held her tightly. He ducked his head and pushed his face into her neck, huddling closer to her. His other arm and cast relaxed against her chest again, and he spread his fingers over her skin.

"I'm glad you're hanging out with her again," Percy murmured. "I want you to be friends with her if she's important to you."

Annabeth could only nod and brush her fingers through his hair. Her voice was embarrassingly breathless when she said, "Okay."

Ω

Percy reached back without looking at her and found her hand, twisting their fingers together. She had to shift her backpack onto her shoulder with her other hand, so she probably looked really weird, but it didn't seem that important if she was holding his hand.

They were on their way to their third period class (English, _uggh_) and the hallways were super crowded as everyone rushed to avoid being late. Annabeth couldn't even make it to walk at Percy's shoulder because of the other students in the hall.

He had taken to holding her hand most of the time now. He still had his cast on his left arm, so now Percy demanded to use his right hand to hold her left hand. It seemed like he was always holding her hand (which was perfectly fine with Annabeth) but that didn't stop some of the weird looks that they got.

It hadn't been that long since Percy's accident—maybe about two weeks—but he was doing way better. The bruises on his face had disappeared. The cuts on his side had healed, leaving a few thin lines as scars. His cast was getting old and smelly, but his arm was hurting less and less. He was smiling more, and he just looked _happier. _When Annabeth had first noticed it she had laughed and joked that the car that had hit him must have knocked some sense into him. Percy had blushed and gripped her hand tighter, smiling to himself.

Things were happening slowly. Annabeth could tell that they were changing as time went on. They were spending every possible moment together, and when they were with each other, they were always touching. Lately, holding her hand hadn't been enough for Percy. If they were at home watching movies, then she had to be sitting in his lap with his arms wrapped around her body. If that wasn't happening then chances were he wasn't happy. He was also giving her kisses a lot more. It wasn't odd or out of the norm to have Percy press a kiss to her forehead or temple, but in the last week he had gotten braver. Now he was kissing her cheek and nose. Yesterday he had even dropped his lips to her jaw.

It had scared her, and she had jumped when he realized how close he was. She had even felt him smirking against her skin right before he had pressed his face into her neck.

It was all weird. Annabeth didn't know what was going on with him. She wasn't sure if he was about to make a legit move or if he was just messing with her. She wasn't sure if she should say anything about it or not.

If he _was _planning on telling her that he wanted to be more than best friends, Annabeth didn't think it would be long. She could tell that he was almost at his breaking point, and even though he looked _happy _all of the time, Annabeth caught the glimpses of frustration on his face when she pulled away from him.

Percy's fingers tightened around hers as he pulled them into their English classroom. She waved and smiled at Rachel as Percy pulled them toward their desks.

"Annabeth!" Rachel said, following them. She turned around after she put her backpack on the ground.

"Hey, Rachel," she greeted easily. Things between them had gotten better, and now they were hanging out a few times a week. They usually sat together in their study hall, and sometimes they would grab lunch on the weekends (if Percy would allow Annabeth to leave his side).

"Hey, I need you to come over sometime tomorrow," Rachel said, pulling one of Annabeth's curls out from behind her ear. "I need help with this painting that I'm trying to finish. But that's all of the information that I can give you right now."

Before Annabeth could smile and say that she would be there, Percy leaned out from behind her and pushed her hair back behind her ear. He looked Rachel up and down before he said, "Tomorrow isn't good."

Rachel and Annabeth both turned to look at him. In unison, they said, "What?"

Percy just shook his head, "She can't do tomorrow. She's busy."

Rachel beat Annabeth to asking. She crossed her arms and said, "And what is she doing that's so important that she can't come by my house for an hour?"

"She's hanging out with me," he said smugly.

"You've had her constantly for the last two weeks!" Rachel said. "You have to share!"

"I don't have to do anything that you tell me to," Percy said defiantly.

Annabeth was too shocked about them arguing over her to do anything about it. She just looked back and forth between them as they traded snarky comments.

Percy and Rachel hadn't talked at all since their last break-up, and Annabeth was surprised to see them even acknowledging each other. Sure, maybe they were arguing over her, but at least they weren't screaming. Yet.

"So you're telling me that you will just be too busy to bring her by my house for an _hour? _What exactly are you going to be doing?" Rachel said as she tapped her foot against the ground.

"That's none of your business," Percy said, setting his hand on Annabeth's back.

"Percy Jackson! I haven't even got to hang out with her because you've been with her all of the time! It's my turn! She's my friend!" Rachel said.

"Well she's _my—" _

Annabeth turned to look back at Percy, and she honestly couldn't help the grin that covered her face. Her tone was _way _too smug, but she didn't care. "I'm your what?"

Percy glared at her, but his face was a little red. He said, "That's was it. You're mine. And I can't share her, Rachel. Sorry."

Rachel glanced at Annabeth before looking back to Percy, "Nice save, Percy. Now if you don't mind, drop Annabeth off at four tomorrow afternoon, and I will personally make sure that she arrives at your doorstep by six."

Percy shifted his glare to Rachel, "Five-thirty."

"Fine," Rachel said as their English teacher walked into the room. "See you then, Annabeth!"

"Okay?" Annabeth said. She still had a trace of a smile on her face from Percy's slip-up. She watched as Rachel scampered off to her desk.

Percy gently pulled her down into her desk just as their teacher asked them to sit down. She was pretty sure that almost everyone was staring at them, but she shot him a playful smile and she ran her hand through his hair and down his face before she turned around.

She knew that he blushed for the rest of the period.

Ω

Annabeth wanted to roll her eyes at how slow Percy was driving, but she was really choking down a smile. He was dropping her off at Rachel's house (Annabeth had offered to drive herself, but he had refused and demanded to take her). Annabeth knew that he was going to hold Rachel to her word, meaning that she better have Annabeth back to his house by five-thirty or else.

He was being kind of ridiculous about this whole thing, but Annabeth guessed she understood. If they were reversed, it would be difficult for her to accept it too.

Percy finally pulled up to the curb outside of Rachel's house. He put the car in park and cut the engine, but he refused to look at her.

Annabeth sat there for a second before she leaned over and smoothed the crease from his frown off of his face. His eyebrows were scrunched together, but she pushed her hand into his hair.

"Hey," she said. "Don't frown. You'll get wrinkles."

His frown deepened. "I don't care about wrinkles."

"I don't care if you care or not. Just stop frowning. I'll be back at your house in two hours," Annabeth said.

Percy finally looked at her, and Annabeth was surprised to see how upset he looked. His shoulders were stiff, and his whole body seemed tense. His hands were clenching the steering wheel.

"I can tell Rachel that I can't stay," she offered half-heartedly.

But Percy must have heard that she didn't want to do that in her voice because he shook his head and looked out of the window away from her.

"No," he said. "Give me a hug and go have fun. I'll see you later."

Annabeth smiled and jumped out of the car, running around to his side. Percy had already climbed out, so once he was standing up straight she threw her arms around him.

He hugged her tightly, gripping her hip and her shoulder. Annabeth could feel his heart beating through both of their shirts. His breathing was steady, and he pulled back faster than normal.

Percy gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and met her eyes for half of a second before he turned around and climbed back inside his car. He gave her a weak smile, "I'll see you in a little while."

Annabeth caught his arm because something felt _wrong. _"Hey, are you okay?"

"Sure," he said, leaning up to give her another kiss on the cheek. "See you soon."

"Okay?" Annabeth asked as he slowly drove away.

She watched his car disappear from view, and she got the feeling that something wasn't right and that they weren't okay.

Ω

Rachel turned the radio down as she pulled into Percy's driveway. She didn't bother to turn the car off, but she looked over to Annabeth before pulling her in for a quick hug.

"Thanks for coming over," she said. "Good luck with Percy."

Annabeth had told Rachel about her feeling that something was wrong when she had gone inside. Actually, Annabeth had lounged the whole time and ranted about Percy while Rachel had painted. Well, maybe it was more worrying than ranting. Rachel had given her some advice (nothing that Annabeth didn't know, but the sentiment was still nice) and she had wished her good luck.

Annabeth smiled lightly and got out, "No problem. I'll see you tomorrow!"

"Bye!" Rachel called as she started to back out of the driveway.

As soon as she was gone, Annabeth turned and walked to the door, opening it and letting herself in. The lights in the kitchen were dark so Sally must have stayed late at her office.

She climbed the stairs and walked to Percy's room, knocking on the door lightly. She didn't hear anything so she opened the door slowly.

Annabeth found Percy lying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He was still wearing his clothes from school (which was weird because he normally changed into sweatpants as soon as he got home) and his sneakers were still tied on his feet. It looked like he had come straight up here and fallen down on his bed without moving. He had probably been lying here since he had gotten back from dropping her off at Rachel's.

"Hey," she said softly, edging closer into the room and toward his bed.

He glanced at her and murmured, "Hey."

She frowned and sat down on the edge of his bed, staring down at him. He wouldn't meet her gaze, and when she reached out to touch him, he turned his face away from her.

For some reason, that hurt her. Something inside of her broke when he did that. He _never _turned away from her. What was happening?

She sighed, "What's wrong?"

He shook his head, but he still wasn't looking at her. "Nothing."

"Something is wrong. Something has been wrong since yesterday in English when Rachel asked me to come over and help her, and now I want you to tell me what it is so I can fix it," Annabeth said.

After another second he looked up at her. His eyes were cold, and it made Annabeth even more nervous. He scowled and said, "Maybe you can't fix it this time."

She pulled back up when Percy sat up and rolled out of his bed. He walked over to the window.

"What?" She asked.

"Maybe this is something that you can't fix," he said again.

Annabeth didn't understand what he was saying. What did he even mean? How could she not fix something? She had been here for him this whole time, and she _knew_ him. She knew how to help him and keep him steady, but right now it kind of seemed like he was broken. It was almost like he was too broken for her to fix this time.

But she refused to believe that he was right. Annabeth could fix anything. She could help him in any way possible, and if she couldn't do it herself, then she would find somebody who could. She never gave up whenever Percy needed her.

"I don't understand," she said, standing up too.

He stayed silent.

"Percy," she begged. "Talk to me. I'm right here."

"I think that may be the problem," he said.

Annabeth stepped backward in shock, and she almost fell to the ground. What was he saying? Did he have a problem with _her? _Was Annabeth the problem?

"What?" She tried to ignore how her voice broke, but she was sure Percy heard it.

He finally turned around to look at her. Instead of wearing a painful expression like she was used to, his jaw was clenched and his eyes were cold. There was something off about it, maybe like he was trying too hard. But that didn't make it any less painful for her to look at.

"I don't know," he said evenly, straining his voice. "Something doesn't feel right. Something is different. Maybe it's because we're so close or we've been together so much. Maybe we need a break."

She felt tears prick her eyes and her throat felt like it might close. "What do you mean? What's different? Are you still made that I went to Rachel's? Is that what this is about?"

His expression hardened, "No. That's not what this is about. This is something else. I'm saying that I need a break from whatever this is."

"A _break_?" She asked, trying to keep her voice from slipping into a shriek. "What exactly are we taking a break from? We're best friends! I don't get—"

Percy cut her off, "I just need some space. That's it."

She thought that space was the _last _thing that he needed right now, but she wasn't going to stand here and argue with him. It would just make her look stupid. If Percy was going to push her away when he needed her the most then that was his problem.

Except it wasn't just his problem. _She _didn't want space. _She _wanted to be closer to him. She wanted to be _with _him. How could he expect her just to walk out like he didn't matter to her?

Annabeth swiped the tears off of her face and turned toward the door. Her vision was blurry from crying, but she wasn't planning on letting Percy notice.

Of course, he did, and the hard look melted off of his face for half of a second before it was back.

He said, "Let me drive you home."

"No," she said firmly. "I can walk myself."

"It's too cold for you to walk."

"Why do you care?"

Percy's face twisted into a harder expression, "_Don't. _I'm driving you home."

Annabeth turned away from him when he tried to grab her elbow, "Don't touch me. I said that I can walk myself."

He crossed his arms over his chest, "And I said that it's too cold for you to do it."

"I don't care what you say," she said, wiping her eyes again and heading toward the door.

She had it halfway open and was stepping through when Percy said, "Wait."

She looked back to him, and he was holding out the hoodie that he had been wearing.

Annabeth scowled at him and walked out without taking the jacket. She tried not to slam the door, but she was pretty sure that it happened anyway.

Percy had been right. It was too cold for her to be walking outside by herself, but she had done it plenty of times before. Besides, she definitely didn't want Percy's help right now. She still didn't even understand how he could think that space would be a good thing for him. The only thing that had ever helped him was being close to someone else.

It didn't matter what she thought though. She couldn't change his mind for him. She knew that it would be stupid to argue with him and just make this whole thing worse than it already was.

She also knew that neither of them was okay, and this time neither of them was there for each other.

Ω

Annabeth had finally managed to stop crying. Sure, it had taken a few hours (okay, maybe all day) but she had finally run out of tears. Now her eyes were puffy and red, and she had a headache.

She had made it home last night and threw her phone across the house. She was pretty sure it was still lying at the bottom of the stairs, waiting to be stepped on. Percy hadn't called or texted her—not that she was expecting him to—but she was still upset.

It had been almost a whole day since she heard from Percy (which was the longest time she had gone without at least texting him in _years_). Even though she was miserable, she wasn't going to call him first. If he wanted space then he would have to deal with her cold shoulder until he decided that he was being stupid and that he had made a mistake. And maybe even after he apologized. She wasn't going to forgive him so easily this time. He had _never _hurt her like this.

She hadn't slept any last night, and she hadn't eaten since yesterday at lunch. She knew that she was being ridiculous, but her heart was hurting. She wasn't okay without him. She just wasn't.

Of course, she had spent most of the morning pretending that she was. She had rolled out of bed (even though she hadn't slept any) and taken a shower before heading to school. She had driven to school by herself (which was weird because she always rode to school with Percy since they only lived a few blocks away from each other) but she had only made it through two periods before she couldn't handle it anymore. She had grabbed her books and the rest of her homework before sprinting toward her car. She hadn't spotted Percy at school so he must have stayed at home too.

After she got back home, she had finished her homework and started a new book to get her mind off of Percy. It didn't work though. He was everywhere. There were pictures of him and things he had bought her and gave her and helped her pick out and—it was just too much.

Pathetic. That's the word that kept going through Annabeth's mind when she started to cry again. She was strong. She was independent. She didn't need to get so upset over a _boy—_

But that wasn't true because Percy wasn't just any boy. Percy was her best friend, and she loved him. He was one of the only solid things that she had left. She had given her heart to him. And… she had _thought _that he had given her his heart. Maybe not.

So that's how Annabeth ended up sitting in the living room floor with her favorite blanket, watching _Harry Potter _and eating ice cream and popcorn. Sure, it was kind of cliché, but at least she wasn't thinking about him as much anymore.

She heard her phone ringing (it was still lying at the bottom of the stairs; she hadn't dared to pick it up this morning) but she didn't bother to get up and answer it. It could have been her dad checking up on her, but he would be home in a few hours anyway.

Over the next hour, her phone rang a few more times and she heard Percy's text tone at least a dozen different times. Even though she wanted to answer him, something kept her from moving from her spot on the floor.

She was putting in _Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire _when she heard someone knock on the door. She froze mid-step when she heard the voice that she had been trying to push out of her mind all day on the opposite side of the door.

"Annabeth?" He called, knocking on the door. "It's me. Open the door."

She didn't—_couldn't—_move.

"Come on, Annabeth," he said, desperation slipping into his voice. "Please."

Her feet started moving, and she found herself standing in front of the door.

"Annabeth, please," his voice was rough. "I don't know if you're even listening to me right now, but I just wanted you to know that I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said any of that, and I was so wrong about it and—I just. I wanted to say that I was sorry. I really wish you would open the door."

Her hand was on the door as she listened, but when he stopped talking she still didn't open the door. She heard him walk away and then she counted the beats of her heart for _one, two, three _seconds and then—

Annabeth jerked the door open and found Percy sitting on the bottom step of her porch. It was cold outside, and she thought he might have been shivering.

He turned around when he heard the door open, and he let out a breath, like he was relieved just to see her.

"Hey," he breathed, staring at her. His eyes and expression were soft, and he had a small smile on his face.

Annabeth wasn't smiling, "It's too cold to sit outside."

"I know," he said.

"Then what are you doing here?" She asked, stepping behind the door.

He hesitated, "I needed to hear your voice. You wouldn't answer my calls or texts."

She crossed her arms over her chest, "That's because I didn't want to see you."

"Yeah," he said quietly. When he looked back up at her, there were a few tears in his eyes. He shoved his hand through his hair. "Yeah, I'll just go."

She watched as he turned around and walked down the sidewalk to his car. He was halfway there when she called out his name.

"Percy," she said. Half of her was screaming to run to him and hug him until he couldn't breathe, but the other half of her was shouting for her to tell him to get lost and then slam the door in his face.

He turned back and said, "Yeah?"

She stared at him for a second, wondering what she was about to do. She pushed the door back and said, "Come inside. It's too cold to stay out here."

He bit his lip, but his expression was a lot less sad. He nodded and followed her through the door, closing it behind him.

Annabeth walked back to the living room and grabbed her blanket before having a seat on the couch. Percy walked in behind her and sat at the other end of the couch. Annabeth thought that was weird because he usually sat right beside her. She guessed that he was trying to keep his distance.

She stared at him until he said, "What?"

"You came here. You talk," she said.

A surprised look passed across Percy's face before he ducked his head, "I don't know what to say."

"Why don't you start with apologizing for being such a dick?" She suggested, crossing her arms and glaring at him.

Percy winced, "I really thought that I needed space from you. I thought that it would make whatever this is less intense. Lately it seems like we spend time together and then we don't and I'm missing something. It literally feels like something is missing when we aren't together. I thought that if we spent some time apart then it wouldn't feel like that. But I was wrong. I was so, so, so, _so _wrong. I was miserable. I can't stand not hearing your voice or seeing your eyes or making you laugh or god, just being near you. I missed you. I'm not okay when you're not with me. I've been so upset and crazy and miserable since we fought and I can't do it anymore. I _need _you, Annabeth. I just—"

"Stop," Annabeth said, turning her head away from him. Tears were rolling down both of their cheeks, and she couldn't stand to see Percy cry when he was saying all of that stuff.

He scooted down the couch so he was right beside her, and he slowly reached out and set his hand on her knee.

His voice broke when he said, "I'll go."

"No," she said, surprising both of them. "It's fine. I am accepting your very long and heartfelt speech as an apology, but I am still a little mad at you."

He let out a breath that was somewhere between a sob and a laugh, "Okay. Tell me why you're still mad."

"We've been best friends for what? Thirteen years? Yesterday—you've _never_ hurt me like that before. I never for one second thought that you would ever hurt me, and then you just told me that you didn't want to see me anymore. You literally rejected me. I _never_ thought that you would do that to me. I gave you everything, and then you just—" she cut herself off and swiped at some of her tears. "I wasn't expecting you to do that. It hurt. I thought I was going to fall apart."

Percy wasn't looking at her, but he reached his hand out, offering it to her. After a few seconds, she put her hand in his. Something inside of her _clicked_ back into place when he grasped her fingers.

"You know," he said, looking up at her. "If I were you I would still hate me. I really am sorry, Annabeth. More sorry than I've ever been before."

She nodded and looked down at their hands, "I know you are."

They were quiet for a few seconds, but it wasn't their same comfortable silence that she was used to. With Percy, things were normally easier and more comfortable, but right now, it was awkward.

After a few seconds of the same weird silence, she glanced over at him and said, "All of those things just you said, I feel the same way. I haven't been okay since we fought. I haven't eaten anything except for junk food. I haven't slept any. I couldn't even make it all day at school."

"At least you went," Percy said shyly, rubbing the back of his neck. "I couldn't even get out of bed."

Annabeth breathed out a laugh, but it didn't sound very real.

He squeezed her fingers and tipped her face up, "Are we going to be okay?"

She met his green gaze and nodded slowly, "We'll be fine. I just need some time to forgive and forget."

He looked away from her and winced again, "Yeah. Okay. Can you—can you just hug me and kiss me and tell me that it will be okay?"

Annabeth stared at him for a few seconds. His eyebrows were scrunched together, and he probably thought that he was about to tell him no.

She yanked on his hand and pulled him into a hug. His arms slipped around her back, and they both sighed when they fit together perfectly.

She had missed him. Oh _god _she had missed him.

She pulled back from him just enough so she could press a soft kiss to his cheek. She whispered, "Of course it's going to be okay. I'm here, and I'm okay. You're here, and you're okay. Everything is fine."

Percy nodded against her and pulled her closer again, making sure they were pressed together as much as they could be.

Annabeth relaxed into his arms, forgetting that they had just had the worst fight in the history of their friendship. But that was okay. As long as they were together, they were both okay.

Ω

That friendship ended two weeks later.

Annabeth remembered it perfectly. Percy and Annabeth were sitting in her room. It was a Friday afternoon, and Annabeth was planning on going to the movies with Rachel and a few of their other friends. She was getting ready, and Percy was lying on her bed and pouting because he wasn't going.

"I want to go with you," he whined.

"No," she yelled from the bathroom. She was finishing her makeup before she changed into the outfit she had picked out. "I told you that it was girls only."

She could hear him whining from the bed, "Annabeth, stay here and hang out with me."

"No way," she said, suppressing a grin and grabbing her lip gloss from her bag. "Besides, I've been with you every day for the past two weeks! And you don't even want to see the new movie that we're going to."

"I'm into chick flicks," he muttered.

She laughed, "Yeah right. Besides, you need to clean your room anyway."

Annabeth didn't hear anything else from Percy, but she knew he was probably still pouting and frowning.

When she was finally ready, she checked the mirror. She was wearing a pair of tight, black skinny jeans and a light blue, tight long-sleeve shirt with a V-neck. Sure, maybe her outfit was a little _sluttier _than what she normally went for, but she looked good. And Rachel had helped her pick it out, so.

Annabeth pulled her combat boots on and shook her hair out again before heading back to her room across the hall.

"Hey," she said, trying to get Percy's attention. He was lying face down on her bed. "How do I look?"

Percy groaned as he rolled back over, but he went quiet when he saw her.

Annabeth bit her lip and turned toward her mirror that was against her wall, examining her outfit again. Maybe it _was _too slutty.

"That bad?" She asked. "Should I change or—?"

"No," Percy said quickly. His voice was wobbly. He was sitting up now, letting his eyes flit down her body and back to her face. "No. You look good."

She laughed at the expression on his face, "Okay. I mean, I know that I don't normally wear stuff like this, but Rachel helped pick it out."

Percy stood up from her bed and walked over to her, standing behind her while she faced the mirror. She watched as he gently placed his hands on her hips and turned her around. He stepped closer so they were pressed together knees, thighs, and hips. Annabeth blinked up at him.

He stared at her, and there was something flickering in his green eyes that she didn't recognize. After a few more seconds, his gaze flitted down to her lips.

Annabeth wanted to shiver (or maybe just lean up and crush her lips to his), but she refused to let him know how much he was affecting her right now. She tried to ignore how fast her heart was beating or how shallow her breathing was or her hands shaking slightly or—

Percy leaned down a little closer, but instead of letting their lips touch like she wanted, he put his mouth at her ear and whispered, "You look great. Tell Rachel that I liked your outfit."

When he pulled back, Annabeth glared at him. He was smirking like he knew what that had done to her, and he was letting his eyes wander down her body, pausing on her shoulders and hips and legs and—it was too much for Annabeth.

She stomped her foot like a kid, and Percy bit back a grin. She strengthened her glare and said, "You can't do that. That's not fair."

His tone was _way _too smug when he said, "And what _exactly _did I do if I might ask?"

Annabeth crossed her arms over her chest, "You know _exactly _what you did."

"I do?" Percy asked innocently, smothering a gigantic grin.

_"Yes," _she said firmly. "You do."

He pretended like he was thinking about it, but Annabeth could see how hard he was holding back a smile, "Mmm. You might need to show me _exactly _what it is that I did."

"Fine," she said, stomping up to him.

She reached out and grabbed him by the belt loops on his jeans and tugged him in her direction until they were pressed together even closer than before. She left one of her hands there, easing her fingers under his shirt and teasingly running her fingertips over the skin just above his belt buckle. She used her other hand and ran it up his back, cupping one of his shoulder blades and running her hand in a circle.

Percy swallowed loudly.

She smirked and moved in _even closer, _nudging his nose with hers. Their lips were _so _close, and when Percy titled his head to kiss her, she moved her head back, rubbing her nose with his again.

"Annabeth," Percy muttered. His hands had moved up her side, and now he was grasping her hips.

Even though she was trying to irritate Percy, she was happy just standing here with him. She sighed and let her eyes close, leaning further into him.

He stopped fidgeting after a few more minutes, and once he did, he seemed happy to just stand there too. Annabeth wasn't sure how long they stayed like that, but all too soon she heard someone honking their horn outside of her house.

She opened her eyes, but Percy was already staring at her. She tried to squirm out of his grasp, but his hands and arms just tightened on her body.

"Don't go," Percy said.

She smiled and pushed against his chest. Her hand slid farther up under his shirt. She used her other hand to grab one of his, "Yes. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Is Rachel bringing you back home?" He asked, frowning.

She nodded, tracing her fingers in circles where his heart was.

"Tell her to bring you to my house instead. I want to see you," he said quietly.

"Okay, I have to go," she said, stepping out of his arms.

He pulled her back and offered her his cheek, "Kiss me?"

She moved to kiss him on the cheek, but she didn't realize when Percy moved his head. Annabeth caught his lips instead of his cheek. She pulled back in surprise.

She stared at him for a second, and all she could see was the green of his eyes.

Had she really—? She had just kissed Percy. On the lips. For the first time.

And she wanted to do it again.

At the exact same moment, they both lunged forward and their lips met and _god—_it was perfect. Maybe a little cliché. But _god _she didn't care. Perfect. That was the word.

Percy kissed her deeply, running his tongue along her bottom lip until she opened her mouth wider. They both groaned at the same exact time, and somehow that made it even better.

Annabeth heard another honk, and she reluctantly pulled back from Percy's lips. She ducked her face to avoid his eyes, but he tilted her chin back up and pressed his lips back to hers a couple of different times.

She laughed and pushed at him, but he wouldn't move away. "Come on, Percy. I have to go."

"You can't," he breathed, kissing every inch of her face. "You shouldn't have kissed me. I can't let go of you now. Sorry."

She laughed again and finally managed to get out of his arms. "I am going, and you are going to go home and clean your room. _Then _I can come over and maybe we can finish this. If you're lucky."

He raised an eyebrow, "If I'm lucky?"

"Yep. I guess it will just depend on what kind of mood I'm in," she said.

Annabeth checked her outfit in the mirror, straightening her shirt and ruffling her hair again. Her lip gloss was ruined, but the rest of her makeup looked okay. She grabbed her wallet from her desk and turned toward the door.

Percy was pouting, staring at her with a disgruntled expression on his face. Annabeth grinned and darted back over to him, quickly pressing her lips to his before he could grab her and hold her. She pulled away and handed him his skateboard before running out of her room.

She yelled goodbye (he could make it out of the house on his own) and ran out of the door and to Rachel's car.

"What took you so long?" Rachel asked as Annabeth climbed into the passenger seat.

She sighed, "Percy distracted me."

"Distracted you? What—?" Rachel finally looked over at her. "Hey, your lip gloss is messed up. You need to—wait. He distracted you _and _your lip gloss is messed up?"

Annabeth bit her lip to hide her smile, "Yes."

Rachel's grin was bigger than her own, _"He kissed you?"_

"Yes!" Annabeth squeaked uncharacteristically.

They both squealed excitedly, and Percy chose that exact moment to open the door and start down the sidewalk with his skateboard in his hand.

When he passed them, they both blew him a kiss.

He blushed a dark red and glared at them before jumping on his skateboard and heading home.

Rachel and Annabeth both laughed as they started down the road.

She sighed, "Oh, that's awesome. I'm glad that you guys are happy."

Annabeth stared at the spot where Percy had disappeared, "Me too."

Ω

Annabeth waved at Rachel as she pulled away. It was too cold to linger outside, so Annabeth darted inside the house.

She had had a great time with Rachel. A few of their other friends—Piper, Silena, and a girl named Hazel—had met them at the theater, and it had been really great. Annabeth had missed going out with her other friends.

But she would be lying if she said that she wasn't happy to be at Percy's house right now.

Annabeth greeted Sally with a hug, and the older woman told her to go on upstairs to find Percy. Apparently he hadn't been downstairs since dinner. But Sally hadn't been too worried. Sally told Annabeth that the dreamy expression on his face was pretty amusing. She had only blushed a little before climbing the stairs.

Her hand hesitated on the doorknob. She was shaking slightly, and she felt a little sick to her stomach.

While she had been gone to the movies, her anxiety about seeing Percy again had skyrocketed. Even though he had kissed her first (well, accidentally, but still) what if he had decided that he didn't want to be together while she was gone?

And is that what was going to happen now? Were they going to start dating? Were they going to be boyfriend and girlfriend? Were they—?

Annabeth shook herself and tried to get rid of all of her thoughts. Whatever they were going to be now, they would have to figure it out together. If she stood out her and worried about it by herself, she would be out here all night.

She took a deep breath before she opened the door.

Percy was sitting at his desk (which surprised Annabeth because he never used that stupid thing) scribbling on some paper. He had his math book open, and he looked thoroughly confused. She was impressed though. He must have been _really _bored to break down and start doing his homework on a Friday night.

Annabeth smiled and shut the door. He finally looked up when she said, "Hey."

The next thing that Annabeth knew, Percy was pressing her up against the door, kissing her square on the mouth. One of his hands was threaded through her hair and cupping her face and the other was gripping her hip. He kept tilting his head and hitting brand new angles, and it was just awesome. Percy was a _great _kisser.

After a few more minutes (really it could have been hours; Annabeth would have been happy just standing there and kissing Percy forever) he pulled back and leaned his forehead against hers.

His eyes were shining, and he was grinning. He looked incredibly adorable, and Annabeth wanted to take a picture of him in that moment.

"Hey, yourself," he breathed, brushing his nose against hers.

Annabeth laughed lightly, trying to ignore how out of breath she was. She let one of her hands slid up his chest while her other hand threaded through his hair. He sighed happily and pushed even closer to her. She arched her back, bending her middle closer to Percy. She pressed a kiss to his jaw.

Percy made this weird sound like he was being strangled, and Annabeth experimentally moved her lips to his neck.

The ground disappeared from under her feet, and before she knew it, Percy was laying her down on his bed, hovering over her as she clung to him. They rolled over, and Annabeth was still pressing her lips up and down his neck, listening to him make a variety of different sounds.

"You know," he said breathily. "All you're really doing right now is pressing your smile to my skin."

Annabeth started laughing, and she pulled back up to his face. She gave him a quick kiss, and Annabeth was thinking that the sweetness of all of this was going to give her a toothache.

"Mmm," she sighed, blinking down at him. "I don't care."

Percy laughed too and covered half of his face with one of his hands, "What are we doing, Annabeth?"

She grinned and nudged his hand out of the way, tangling their fingers together. "Something that we should have done a _long _time ago."

"I know," he nodded. "I shouldn't have wasted all of that time when I could have had you thirteen years ago."

"It probably wouldn't have been as great though," she said thoughtfully, tracing the line of his mouth with her fingertips. "I think being best friends for so long is going to make our relationship better."

He wiggled his eyebrows, "Relationship? _Oooh. _Is that what we're in now?"

She rolled her eyes and kissed him again, fighting the urge to blush, "Duh."

"So I'm like, you're _boyfriend?"_

Annabeth batted her eyelashes, "As long as I'm your _girlfriend."_

Percy tossed his head back and laughed loudly, squinting his eyes until there were laugh lines in the corners of his face. "This is awesome."

Annabeth's own grin widened, and she squealed when Percy flipped them over again. When he kissed her, tipping her head up to hit this _great _angle, she realized that things were _way _better than okay.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading! I hope you liked it! Leave a review!**

**-SomethingMoreCreative**


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